SNAFU7
by Hatchepsut
Summary: The fate of the World rests in their hands . . . again.Not quite the end. SNAFU15 is waiting to be written
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

Sam and Jack headed for the SGC early the next morning. Both of them were nervous, but trying to show the other that they were fine. They chatted about nothing as Jack drove across town.

"So, nothing helpful from PX3 777?" Jack asked.

"Merlin was quite the philosopher. He keeps going on about the pure of mind. I find it a little odd."

"Odd?"

"You'd expect him to say 'pure of heart' not mind. I don't know…something about that bothers me."

"Have you told Daniel?"

"Yeah, he agrees, but then says that his translations are right, even without the PDA…it could say pure of soul, but that doesn't make much of a difference."

She looked out the window and in the reflection Jack could see that she was turning things over and over in her head.

"Hey."

She looked back, serious then smiled.

"You need to back away from this Carter. Maybe you are too close and not seeing everything. Plus, I don't have much time this trip, I need to go back and pack up my office, the apartment…so I'd kind of like your attention over here."

He wiggled a finger around his chest area.

"I was thinking about that too. Maybe we should get a new place?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe we should get a place that is ours?"

"I like your place and I thought you did to?"

"I do, I do, but it's mine, you know, all the stuff there is mine…"

"Number one, with the baby and the Ori coming, do either of us have time to go house hunting? And number two, I plan on bringing my Simpson's water glasses and a bit of other stuff when I leave Washington. Don't worry, it'll our place soon enough."

He patted her leg with affection. She should know that as long as he was with her, it didn't matter where they lived.

Sam had never really had this before. She was getting all 'nesty'. Her most exciting find last week was the exact colour of paint that she wanted for the baby's room. She gotten a feeling usually reserved for finding a really great piece of technology. This 'nesty' feeling was strange for an Air Force brat. Home had always been where Mark and parents were, not a fixed address on a map. Hell, living in Colorado Springs had been the longest stint in one place in her entire life.

"I want to get started on the baby's room."

"So, no moving?"

"When you're right, I listen. I'm not sure I know how to do this, Jack."

"Paint? We'll get the guys over one Saturday afternoon and get it done in no time. It's not hard."

She smiled but there was something in her face he didn't like.

"Carter, I have absolutely no concern about your skills as a Mother. I have never met anyone who is more loving and caring than you. Cassie saw it right off. She was in love with you from the moment she saw you."

"I was in love with her too, but it was easy. She was a little person already. Babies are different."

"Yup they are, but you'll have help. I'll be there and you'll probably have to throw Daniel out of the house…And hey, you and Siler could always build a robo-nanny."

She laughed. Jack could make her doubts seem silly…valid but silly. They were at the base and her excitement at seeing the baby started push away at everything else.

"I need to stop into my office first. I left my PDA there and I need a couple of things…" She said as they went through security.

They took the elevator down to 19 and got off. Jack followed her down the hall, thinking that he'd be glad to get back here.

General Landry came around the corner and spotted her.

"Colonel Carter? Didn't I order you off the base until Tuesday?"

"Yes sir, but you were out ranked."

He looked at Jack and raised an eyebrow. "You find it necessary to bring her back here?"

Jack laughed and lifted his hands palms up.

"It wasn't me."

"Actually it was me." Caroline Lam came around the corner behind her father.

Landry turned and smiled at his daughter. "Ah… how is the Mother-to-be?"

"Good, just a little curiosity on behalf of her doctor. Shall we go down to the infirmary Sam?"

"Sure, I just need to grab something off my desk."

Jack and Hank stood in the hallway talking while the ladies dropped into Carter's lab. There was a light blinking on her phone and Sam was tempted to answer it.

"You aren't here to work, Sam."

"I know, but I'm nervous."

"Nothing to be nervous about. Let's go have a look at that beautiful baby of yours."

Jack waved at Hank and told him that he'd talk to him later. There'd be plenty of time.

Once in the infirmary Jack waited outside the curtain while Sam changed into scrubs. He came in when Caroline called him.

"You sure you don't mind me being here for the internal part of the exam?" Jack asked.

"Of course. Unless you don't want to be here?"

"I want to be part of everything."

"Well, I'm done here." Caroline said from the end of the bed. "Everything looks exactly as it should. Let's get the sonogram done."

She applied the gel to the wand and waited while the General helped Sam pull up her shirt. He was absolutely smitten with her and it was cute. Caroline didn't know him well, but she could tell he wasn't going to be afraid of a diaper or two.

"Okay, here we go." She slid the wand around 'the bump'.

Jack and Sam squinted at the screen but neither of them could make out a thing.

"Well, well, well. This explains a lot!" Caroline exclaimed.

"What?" Sam and Jack asked simultaneously.

"Your baby…has a womb-mate."

Puzzlement flashed across their faces. They didn't even groan at Caroline's bad joke.

Caroline pointed to the screen and swirled a finger around two blobs. They were pulsing.

"Two heart beats."

Sam and Caroline were glued to the monitor but turned to look when they heard a crash.

Jack had bumped the little metal table on the way down to his seat.

"Two?"

"Yup!" Caroline was pointing at the screen again. "Do you want to know the sex"  
"No." Sam said quickly.

"I was positive that it was a boy, but now? Two boys?" Jack was muttering to himself.

Vala chose that moment to pop her head around the curtain. "Two? Is this another secret I'm going to have to keep?"

Everybody turned to look.

"Not for long Vala, we'll tell the guys soon." Sam said turning back to the screen.

They wrapped up after Vala left. The two parents were stunned as Sam got dressed.

"I guess we should get the gang together and let them in on the news." Sam said pulling her shirt back over her head.

"Yup, tonight?" Jack looked completely shell-shocked.

They were sitting around Sam's backyard after the meal. The team, including Vala, Hank and Caroline were there. Daniel took a pull on the beer he had been nursing.

"Whatcha doing Danny?"

"Trying to figure out who the babies look like." He had one of the copies of the sonogram that Caroline had printed off.

"I know…" Jack leaned forward. "If I wasn't so confidant a man, I'd be concerned. Carter? These boys look a lot like Thor."

Everybody laughed. Sam elbowed Jack in the ribs. This was the most relaxation the group had had in months.

Cam stood by the rail and smiled. He'd been part of this team for a while but he still hadn't quite gotten to the level of inclusion that the original team shared. He knew that in a lot of ways Daniel, Teal'C and Sam still considered him the 'new guy', and he was still a little nervous around Major General Jack O'Neill. Vala, it seemed had no such issue. She was comfortable anywhere they went.

"So, Daniel, when are you going to have Sam's shower?" Caroline asked.

Daniel sputtered around the beer in his mouth. They were her closest friends, was it up to them to throw those things?

"I am confused…people bathe the pregnant lady?" Vala asked.

Again there was laughing, Vala still had a bit of a metaphor issue.

"A baby shower is where friends get together and give the parents and baby, or in this case babies, gifts. Kind of a welcome to the neighbourhood thing." Caroline explained.

"Loot? People get together and give you stuff?"

"Yup." Jack replied.

"Hmmm, we'll need to organize this right away." Vala was planning.

"I am going to have to begin a new search for infant conveyance units." Teal'C stated out of the blue.

Everybody looked at him.

"Strollers, T." Jack supplied.

"That is what I said."

"Oh, and not to over-shadow the great baby news, I have a little announcement I'd like to make." Jack said.

Hank had gotten the heads up yesterday, but hadn't said anything to the team, figuring that Jack would want to share.

"I'm coming home."

"You quit your job?" Daniel asked.

"Why is that the first thing everybody asks? No I didn't quit. I convinced the President that it would be a good idea to be here. That I would be better able to defend the Earth if I was closer to the Gate."

"I'm keeping the office, Jack." Landry said

"It's yours; I never liked the desk anyway."

Everybody babbled in excitement. It was a good night. They all stayed late and ate and drank and goofed around, teasing and laughing, no one being exempted.

Jack and Sam finally got ready for bed.

"I think they're happy for us." Jack said.

"Oh yeah, Daniel and Teal'C will be glad to have you back."

Jack slid his arms around her. "How about you? Will Carter be glad to have me back?"

She leaned her head back and whispered into his ear. "Carter will be very happy to have you back. She needs the babies' room fixed up."

He laughed and rubbed 'the bump'. Was he going to have to call it 'the bumps' now? Two babies…he remembered how high energy Charlie had been as a kid, how would he keep up, ten years later, with two O'Neill boys?

"We are having a two fer, Samantha."

"Yup, when we do something Jack, we do it well. I was kind of concerned about having an only child."

"You don't think we'll have another one?"

This time she laughed. "Let's get through this first. Maybe we'll get a dog next."

A dog. He hadn't thought of that. His boys needed a dog.

Sensing that he was plotting Sam said quickly. "No Jack, a dog has to be let out, often, and I can't always be on the planet, let alone at the house. Until one of us is around here for at least 8 hours a day, there is no dog."

Jack flew back to Washington to over see the packing. Landry decided that since Sam wasn't going off world every time SG1 did, she should handle the overseeing of the new offices. Facilities would handle most of it and Sam being uber-intellegent, roped Siler into handling most of the other arrangements.

When the boxes for Jack's office showed up, she took that job personally. She had worked with him for years and knew how he liked his stuff. Game boy and jelly beans in the top right hand drawer…

She found pictures in frames in one of the boxes. There were a few of Charlie, some of Jack, Sarah and Charlie, and many of the original SG1. She wasn't offended by the lack of pictures of her alone. They were still trying to fly under the radar, not making a big deal out of the fact that they were together. She did have a surprise for him though. She'd gone out and gotten a glass frame and framed the sonogram showing both babies. They'd both decided that they could make out their children in that shot. She put it right on his desk, next to a good one of Charlie.

She stepped back from his desk. She had made sure that all of the drawers worked and that his chair was comfortable. She'd left a bowl of hard candy on the filing cabinet and a stash of other junk in one of the drawers. It would be nice having Jack only a couple of floors away from her lab. He'd be there soon.

She headed off to her lab, closing the door to his office behind her. The 'boys' were starting to kick up a fuss. She'd had felt them fluttering around in there for a few weeks but now they were playing some kind of full contact sport. Twins, even after a full week, the thought still filled her with awe. She was waiting for the elevator when the klaxon's started shrieking. Instead of pressing 19, she hit 28 and made her way to the Gate room.

"We have a radio signal from SG1." She heard Walter tell Landry as she came up the stairs.

Through the crackling she heard Cam. "Is Colonel Carter there?"

She leaned over the mic. "Yeah Cam, I'm here. What's up?"

"We found something Sam. Daniel would like you to have a look before we move it."

"Gimme ten to get dressed and I'll be there." She looked at Landry who nodded.

Carter ran to get ready. She needed a larger vest and suddenly it was mandatory for her to wear a Kevlar vest with a chest plate. It was like the one that had saved Jack's life, just not Janet's. 'The bump' was completely covered and as protected as it could be.

She realized that she was smiling as she entered the Gate room. It was a great feeling to be Colonel Carter again. Recently she'd been feeling a little left out, kind of down as Sam the Mommy. She was happy and excited about the babies, but the thrill of the unknown was something she'd never let go of. It had been part of her for way too long to completely leave, even for something as wonderful as her children.

She materialized through the Gate to find Teal'C and Cam waiting for her. They'd positioned themselves on either side, right next to the event horizon, to catch her if she stumbled.

"Okay guys, I'm fine."

Cam had the grace to look chagrined. Teal'C just nodded.

"Do you wish to vomit Colonel Carter?" Teal'C asked.

"Once, I threw up once. I've been through the Gate since then, get over it Teal'C!" Sam growled at her friend.

Again Teal'C nodded.

"Sam, we need to get to a cave about 2 klicks from here. I figure it'll take us an hour."

"Are you planning on crawling there Cam?"

"We don't want to push you."

"Oh for crying out loud. I run 5 miles a day, Cam. At high altitude and mountainous terrain. I'm in great shape…being pregnant doesn't mean I've become fragile. Try to keep up."

The 'boys' actually seem to like exercise, especially if she'd been sitting in her lab for hours. The only change she'd really notice, other than the obvious weight gain, was the increase need to pee. She was still working out and doing everything she'd done before she'd gotten pregnant. The guys didn't seem to realize it and it was starting to drive her nuts. Sure, soon she'd have to cut back, but until it was absolutely necessary, she was going to keep on being herself.

It took them half an hour, the terrain was a little rougher than she'd thought, but she got there without being winded. Cam looked a little guilty when she caught him checking on her ever few minutes. Vala was waiting outside the cave, armed and ready for unfriendlies. Daniel came out when he heard them approach.

"Sam, we found something." He motioned for her to follow him inside.

There was a cache of technology scattered around on tables and shelves built in the cave. Someone had set up here.

"There's a lot of stuff here that I know you'd like to get your hands on, but this has Merlin's signature all over it."

Daniel pointed at a piece that was in a hole in the middle of the table. It looked a lot like the pad they'd found on Earth.

"We found the secret compartment when we ran this over the table."

"Could it be another one of those?" She pointed at the Ancient PDA Daniel held.

"No, there are different writings on it. I ran this one over that one and got the translations in Ancient. It says that it is the seer. Whatever that means."

Cam spoke from behind her. "We didn't want to move it until we were sure that it wasn't going to blow us up or break. There are a bunch of things in there and we needed to know if we should just grab everything and run or what."

Sam pulled out her tools and then stripped off her outer-vest to get to work. It was warm in there. She spent the next few hours going over everything in the secret compartment before starting to unload it.

Cam had more patience than Jack. It was already starting to get dark when he started to make 'shouldn't we be going now?' noises. When Sam and Daniel finally came out of the cave, they knew that they wouldn't be heading home tonight.

"I don't think we're going anywhere, Cam. That hike was rough in full day light." Sam said stretching. Her back was starting to complain.

"Anyway, we can finish up tomorrow morning and start to haul it all out by lunch." Daniel added.

Cam looked at them and shrugged. "You two want to help set up camp or set up some lanterns and keep digging in there?"

Sam looked at Daniel. They'd done a lot today, but she was hungry.

"Why don't we put together dinner and you guys set up the tents?" She said.

"Great."

They were getting things together when suddenly they heard an electronic noise coming from in the cave. Sam and Daniel were on their way back inside to see what was going on when the entrance to the cave lit up and the force from the explosion threw shrapnel out and knocked Daniel onto his ass.


	2. Chapter 2

He'd been on his way back to the SGC when the news of the explosion on PX3 412 reached him. All that he was told was the SG1 was injured and on their way back, then Hank told him that Sam had joined the team He knew then that the other shoe had dropped.

Sam had been asleep when he got there. So he sat on a chair and watched her. When she woke she saw him sitting there and dissolved into tears. He jumped to her side and gathered her to his chest while she openly sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, it was so stupid…I shouldn't have gone."

She was nearly hysterical. He rubbed her back, not knowing what to say.

She pulled away and looked at him. There was grief and fear etched all over his face.

Caroline Lam pushed aside the curtain. She walked over to the bed and checked the various machines that were attached to Sam.

"Sam, you need to calm down. This isn't good for the babies."

"Okay, okay." Sam sniffed.

"Caroline says that everything is fine…you're okay, the babies are okay…nothing was jiggled loose."

"But it could have been. I could have lost the babies!"

Caroline stopped what she was doing and looked at the couple. Both of them were vibrating with fear. She needed to calm them both down or there would be problems for the babies.

"Sam, the General is right. Everything is going to be okay, but you need to calm down. Your blood pressure is up and those babies of yours can tell when their mommy is stressed."

Sam looked at the fetal monitor. It was beeping at a rapid rate, monitoring both babies.

"Are they supposed to be doing that?" Sam asked.

"Yes, baby's heart rates are much faster than ours. It's yours I'm more concerned about."

"Is that why she's on the monitors?" Jack asked.

His eyes never left Sam's face.

"I'm just being over protective. I would like to keep you here for another day, just to monitor everybody. I'll repeat what I said though, the babies are fine. You have a few cuts and bruises that will heal, but high blood pressure and a heart rate that out runs a bunny is not good."

Caroline reached over and patted Sam's hand. "Sam you need to rest, don't make me sedate you."

Sam sighed. If she kept repeating 'the babies are fine, the babies are fine' to herself it helped. She had come so close to losing them, and looking at Jack, she could see that she'd put him through hell. It was early in the morning and he hadn't slept, if the beard growth and rumpled uniform were any clue. His tie and jacket were thrown over the chair, his shirt was pulled out of his pants and a few of the buttons had been undone.

"Jack." She whispered.

Lifting a scratched hand she placed it on his cheek. Caroline took her cue and left them alone.

Jack turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. He was calming down now about 'the boys', but the doctors words about Sam were causing him concern. When he'd come into this room and saw her lying there, pale, scratched and bruised, his heart had nearly stopped. Her breathing was steady, and he could see 'the bump' under the sheet but it took touching her gently to convince himself that Dr Lam hadn't lied and both Sam and the babies were okay.

"Rest, don't worry any more, Samantha."

"I shouldn't have gone Jack."

"Its okay, it's okay." He brushed away a rebel tear that was tracking down her cheek. "You need to rest; Dr Lam looks like she went to the same school of medicine as Janet. When she says she'll drug you she means it."

Sam smiled weakly but she was tired, so she closed her eyes.

Jack sat beside her holding her hand until he was sure that Sam was asleep. He needed to get out of there and find out what the hell had happened.

He had been told that the debriefing would happen at 08:00, so he had time to shower and change. Grabbing his bag he made his way to the men's shower room. A little while later, dressed in BDU's, he made his way to his old office.

Hank Landry sat behind the desk, and from the looks of it, he'd been there a while.

"Hank." Jack growled from the door.  
"Jack." Hank stood and motioned his friend in.

"What the hell happened out there?"

Hank sighed.

He took his coffee cup, filled it and offered Jack a cup.

Jack nodded, although he probably didn't need any caffeine.

"What the hell was so bloody important that Colonel Carter was almost killed?"

When Jack referred to Sam by rank Hank knew that it was the head of Homeworld speaking, not just a concerned lover.

"SG1 called in. They had found a cache of…devices that Dr Jackson identified as belonging to Merlin. They were concerned about moving them and requested that Colonel Carter come have a look."

Hank sat back down.

"She wanted to investigate a few things before they moved anything, and it took a while. Colonel Mitchell waited until it started to get dark and to ask if they wanted to leave or set up camp. The trip from the Gate to the cave was a little rough and they decided to wait until the morning to go."

Jack shifted in his chair. He was waiting to find out about the explosion.

"They were setting up camp when there was a noise from inside the cave. Dr Jackson and Colonel Carter turned to investigate and there was an explosion. From what the rest of the team has said, it looks like when they moved some of the devices it set off a trap. Luckily the trigger on it was long, or Dr Jackson and the Colonel would have been inside the cave when it blew."

Jack's anger at the man was at full throttle.

"How could you let her go?"

"You know her better than anyone, you've commanded her longer than anyone, could you have stopped her form going?"

When it came to her job, Sam was a bull dog. She'd go at it until someone or something made her stop. Jack knew that. He wasn't a fool, he'd known from the moment he'd heard that she had gone through the Gate that it would have been her decision to go. There was no one to blame for this. It was an accident not an on purpose.

"Jack, I'm sorry, I should never have let her go. I am the head of this base and damn it, I should have said no, but we haven't found anything in so long…"

"Yeah, Hank, I know. I would have let her go too." Jack shook his head. "Scared the hell out of me."

"Me too. When Mitchell hauled Jackson through then Teal'C came through carrying Carter, the only thing I could think of was, I did what the Goa'uld couldn't…I destroyed SG1."

"They are a hearty bunch…more lives than a cat, but one of these days their luck will run out."

"How many times has Dr Jackson…died?"

"I've lost count. Carter on the other hand…twice. I even killed her once."

Hank laughed without a lot of humour. "Not a story you'll tell the boys, huh?"

"Hank? What the hell am I thinking about…becoming a Dad at my age?"

"You aren't that old Jack."

"Almost as old as you, and you have a grown daughter…a doctor."

"Yeah."

"I should be getting ready for retirement and becoming a pain in my grown children's asses."

"You'll be fine Jack. Sam is a helluva woman and she'll kick your ass when you need it."

Mitchell knocked on the door to let Landry know that they were ready. When Cam saw General O'Neill he blanched. Thinking that his ass was about to be sen tback to Antarctica he backed away from the door.

Hank and Jack joined Teal'C, Vala and Cam in the briefing room. Although he'd checked on Daniel in the infirmary, Jack hadn't talked to his friend. He'd head over there once they were done here.

"The General will be joining us."

Cam was still standing at attention when everybody else had taken their seats.

Jack knew that the man was feeling guilty, he should, his team had been injured, but he also knew that Mitchell had been sitting at Daniel's bedside just as he himself had sat by Sam's.

"At ease Mitchell." Jack said.

Cam sat and looked around the table. It wasn't right; the rest of his team should be there too.

"We've done a quick briefing so we know the gist of what went on out there. Did we learn anything of use?" It was now General Landry's show.

Sam was much calmer when Jack returned to her. The curtains around her bed had been pushed aside and she was talking with Daniel who lay on his stomach facing her. 

Jack could tell by the glassiness of the archaeologist's eyes that he was drugged into the stratosphere.

"How's your butt, Danny-boy?" Jack asked smiling at the two of them.

"Okey-dokie Jack. Caroline says I need bed rest…didn't break my…" and he said something that Jack supposed was to be coccyx. "So that's good. Wow that was a trip!"

Jack turned as footsteps sounded behind him. The rest of SG1 had followed him out of the briefing.

"The nurses are talking about the bruise….at least I think it was the bruise. Most of what I heard had to deal with your butt…" Cam teased from the door way.

Sam looked up at the team. Cam caught her eye and dropped his head. He couldn't look her in the eye.

"Well, it's about time you guys got here. Have we been grounded?" She asked.

"Yup, at least until Daniel is back on his feet…or butt as the case may be." Vala reported.

Daniel lifted his head from the pillow. "Please stop talking about my butt."

"Hey man, you have women all over the base talking about your butt…it's not a bad thing." Cam walked passed Sam's bed to sit in the chair at Daniel's.

"I just don't like my butt being the topic of conversation."

"I believe your posterior will be the topic of conversation for a time DanielJackson." Teal said. "ColonelCarter, I am glad to here that you and the babies are unharmed."

"Caroline says we're fine, I'll be out of here tomorrow. Look guys, I'm sorry, I should have realized that there would be something guarding that cave…"

Cam stopped her, meeting her eyes for the first time. "I was leading the mission, I should have made sure that it was safe. This whole thing was my fault. I'm sorry...when I think about what could have happened…"

His voice broke on the last part and he turned away.

Daniel piped up. "I should have known. It was too easy to find the stuff, no Ancient would have just left all of that around. I'm just surprised that we weren't all killed."

Teal'C put in his assertion that he too should have known that it was too easy. It looked like everybody was going to take the blame.

"I knew. Vala said. "But nobody listens to me."

They all looked at her. She shrugged.

"Well I didn't know, but I had a feeling…"

"Well, why didn't you say something?" Daniel asked.

"Because, no one ever listens to me…I poked around a lot while you were inside and I couldn't find anything, so I figured that maybe this time I was wrong. Looks like I wasn't."

"So, everything was destroyed?" Sam asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Yeah." Cam replied. "We have the readings on our PDA, but nothing else made it."

"Damn." Was all Sam could think of to say.

Dr Lam sent Sam home the next day, telling her that she wasn't to return for at least a week…unless there was a medical emergency. Sam agreed and let Jack take her home.

Jack didn't really need to be at the SGC and even if he had been needed he wouldn't have left her side for anything. Torrington could unpack the office and get the rest of the Homeworld team situated. He was staying with her. Jack brought her home and placed her in the bedroom. He fussed over her and she let him.

She rested all day and was asleep when he came in that night. He undressed in the dark and quietly crawled into bed. She rolled away from him and shifted into a more comfortable position.

When he woke up again he was alone. It was still dark and the house was quiet. He waited and listened but couldn't hear her moving around. Getting out of bed he slipped through the bedroom silently.

He found her in the 'babies' room'. She was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up as much as they could be and hands resting on 'the bump'. He listened as she spoke.

"…so we have a deal here, right guys? I promise not to do anything else stupid and you guys promise to stay healthy and happy. I love you guys and your Daddy so much…I don't think even he knows how much. I need you three more than I need my next breath."

She sniffed, crying was becoming an annoying habit for her. She had never cried this much in her life.

"Your Daddy is such a good man…I let him down. I wasn't nearly as smart as I thought, and I nearly lost you guys. I promise that I'll do my very best not to let any of you down ever again." She rubbed her belly easing herself as much as the babies within.

Jack sniffed. He couldn't help himself, he was crying too.

Sam looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. She watched him come over and slide down the wall to sit beside her.

"C'mere." He said pulling her to him, resting her head against the spot between his shoulder and his neck. He held her for a while before speaking.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting?"

"Your boys had other plans. I guess they were tired of laying around. They woke up and started to kick up a fuss. I needed to use the head and so I got up. I just didn't make it back to bed."

He laced the fingers of his free hand with her's and rested them on 'the bump'.

"You've never let me down Samantha…never."

"Yes I did. I should have known better than to go out there Jack. I could have…God can you ever forgive me?"

"There is nothing to forgive. You did what you needed to…you needed to go there, you needed to find out if what Daniel had would save our lives. You have to remember Samantha, it's not like you went to Six Flags and hopped a Roller Coaster for the hell of it. You went there in search of a way to save the Earth from a fate worse than death."

She hiccupped on a sob. He was defending her to herself.

"I need you to know something. I love the babies…like I never thought I could love anyone again, but… I am so not good with words…but if I had lost you? I couldn't have survived, not that, not ever. I lost a piece of myself with Charlie, but you have everything, have had everything, that I am, for years. Sure we tried to ignore it, but it's there, and now we are given a precious gift. Two babies are coming into this world and we are being asked to care for and protect them."

They were both crying like babies sitting there wrapped in each others arms. The tears were cathartic, washing away the pain and fear the last couple of days had brought to them. They sat until the sun started to lighten the sky, not saying anything, just holding onto their family.

Jack was startled when he felt a strong kick under his hand.

"Was that…?"

"Oh yeah, they've been doing that a lot lately. Wait for it, the other one will answer in a…" and there against his wrist was another kick.

"How often do they do that?"

"Not too often, just when I sit in one position too long."

"They'll be doing that more often as they get older. How's your back?"

"Good, so far I've been really lucky…no morning sickness, my ankles aren't swelling…I just need to pee more often."

He smiled into her hair. She was lucky. He remembered Sarah throwing up a lot. She also complained about her back…but Jack thought that it was later on in her pregnancy.

"I'm not going to stop working."

"I hope not…we need you too much."

"I am going to stop going through the Gate though."

"Okay."

"But, I'm going to work in my lab. I think I can learn something from those readings Daniel got before the cave blew."

"Why don't we go back to bed for a bit…and later we'll go shopping for paint. You can supervise while I do the physical. I won't wear a shirt."

"Sounds like a deal…especially if you leave the shirt off."

It didn't work out quite as they expected. Teal'C called and when he found out what they were planning on doing he insisted that he needed to help. So Jack and Sam went and got paint, and by the time they got back, Teal'C, Mitchell, Vala and Daniel along with his chair doughnut, were waiting. Daniel helped Sam supervise. In no time the babies' room was painted. 


	3. Chapter 3

The weeks dragged on. Daniel was still having trouble with his back and Jack was surreptitiously keeping an eye on his friend's pain killer usage. So far the archaeologist was okay, but with a back injury, a person could slip into dependency quickly. Jack was also keeping an eye on Sam. She was still pushing herself, but she was more or less taking care.

Of course, Teal'C was a little more in her face about watching her. He'd even gone as far as having Siler fix a chair up for her, one that had a lumbar support, with heat. When she found out that there was a massage feature, Sam almost wept. She laughed that the thing could make popcorn if she wanted it.

Sam and Daniel were in her lab going over the readings again for the umpteenth time. They were arguing over semantics.

"I just think that there is a reason that Merlin uses the phrase 'pure of mind' over and over again."

"He's speaking in metaphor Sam."

"I don't think so…listen. What do we know about the Ancients? They created at least two Repositories of their knowledge, that we know about. They may have had more. I wouldn't put it passed Merlin to have created something like that to hide his 'gift'."

"So you think that we should be looking for another Repository?"

"Or maybe the ones we have found hold the answer."

"The ones we found were created thousands of years ago."

"Not necessarily putting them out of the game. Assuming that Merlin came back to Earth, before he ascended, what was stopping him from visiting other planets? He could have hidden the information inside a pre-existing Repository."

Daniel stood and walked around, limping a little until the muscles of his back loosened.

"Why don't you have Vala run the hand device over you?" Sam asked.

"I don't like the idea of using Goa'uld devices."

Sam could understand, but he was in quite a bit of pain.

"I'll be okay Sam…I'm starting a new exercise routine that Teal'C promises will help."

"Okay, I'm just concerned." She stood to.

Daniel smiled at the sight of her. She was really pregnant now. Her belly was high and round and she petted it unconsciously. Having two babies in there had made her look like she was closer to her due date than she said she was.

Getting back to the argument at hand Daniel said, "Well, one of the Repositories is gone. The other, well the interface still relies on somebody sticking their head into it. Are you suggesting we do that?"

"I'd kill to talk to Thor. Maybe he can access the information that he downloaded from the General the last time."

"Well let's send out message to Thor. We can ask him ourselves."

They were going to need to go through channels. As easy as it would be to go straight to Jack in his office, there were still regulations to be followed. They made an appointment with General Landry for 1400 and decided to go grab lunch in the meantime.

Jack and Teal'C walked in just as Sam and Daniel were sitting down. The other two men joined them when they'd gotten their food. Jack looked at Daniel and Sam.

"Okay, you two are up to something."

Sam told them their theory. Jack looked interested.

"So you think that Thor backed up the crap he pulled from my head?"

"We hope so."

"Well tell Hank to call…" Jack started.

"No, Jack. We'll tell General Landry our theory and ask him to contact Thor. We can't just bounce over him."

"Ah," Jack looked chagrined. "Chain of Command…I was never fond of that."

"You weren't too fond of Frat Regs either, but you followed them." Daniel reminded him.

Even Teal'C laughed at that.

Sam spent most of Sunday afternoon propped up by pillows on the bed. She was watching Jack pack for his monthly trip to Washington. He still had to spend a week at the Pentagon, catching up with the Joint Chief's, their little hook to moving. He had to fly out at 1800 Sunday, but would be back by 2200 Friday.

"Come with me." He said.

"I'd love too but we could hear from Thor at any time. I really think we're on to something with the Repository theory."

"What if it comes down to me sticking my head in that thing again?"

Sam shook her head vehemently. "We'll figure out another way."

Jack sat beside her on the bed. "If it comes down to it…we need to make contingency plans."

Sam grabbed both of his hands and held them against her belly. "You are not leaving us, Jack. I will not allow that to happen. We need you. No contingency, no download, no."

He sighed and leaned over to kiss her.

"We'll talk to Thor. If he can promise that I'll come out of it my brilliant, charming self, we do it."

"I don't like it Jack."

"It wouldn't be the first time I did something you didn't like."

"True…but maybe they can pull the answer out of the data they've got."

"If so, why haven't they done it before?"

"I don't know…maybe they didn't know what to look for?"

"Samantha…this is Thor…little body, BIG brain. I have complete and utter faith in you my brilliant Lieutenant Colonel, Doctor Carter, but if they don't know what to look for, how will we know if we find it?"

Her eyes filled with tears of frustration. "I don't know…we just will."

"Okay," he kissed her again and got up off of the bed. "I'll go feed the rabid bureaucrats and you amaze the aliens."

"Can you amaze me one more time before you leave? It'll be a long week."

"God woman, I never realized you could be this insatiable…not that I'm complaining." He grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sam blushed. She had been insatiable lately, she'd even caught herself thinking about visiting him in his office for a quickie, but then reality caught up and she remembered that they were at work and there was no way in hell that they could do what she was fanaticizing about. When she told Jack about it that night he'd choked and said something about never looking at his desk the same way again.

"I'm glad you're not complaining."

"Hey, I'm here to serve."

"Well then get over here and serve me!" She blushed as she said it.

A little while later they were both happy and sated. Sam lay on her side tickling his chest with her fingers.

"Can't lie on your back much anymore huh?" He asked.

"The boys are getting a little too big for that, yeah. I'm surprised at how quickly everything's changing."

"Well its October, you're due mid January…things will really start to change now. I'm going to inform the Joint Chiefs that next month will be my last visit to Washington until the babies come. I don't want to be half a continent away."

He kissed the top of her head. It was at times like these that he realized how important she was to him, how much his life had changed for the better. He still wanted to get married, but had left the ball in her court.

"We should probably get dressed. Don't want to make you late for your flight."

"I'm a two-star General, they'll wait."

"Yes, they will. What do you think of Jacob and Michael"  
"Huh?"

"Baby names? I was thinking that your Dad was Michael, mine was Jacob, neither of them is here anymore, and it would be nice to have the names…"

"Have you ever considered that we might have at least one girl?"

"Nope. When Caroline offered to find out, I told her that I was 100 percent sure that they were boys and that if not I'd rather be surprised. How about you? Do you want to know for sure?"

"And ruin the pool at the SGC? I'm not that brave. No, I'm sure that they are boys too, but if we found out, someone would leak it to the world. I don't know about you, but I already feel like we have an audience."

"The personnel do seem rather interested in our lives."

"I think that they were waiting for us to finally commit and when we did, they needed something else to keep them going. Maybe we should tape the birth? Stream it live through the base? We could make a killing on merchandise."

Sam started giggling. It was true that some days she felt as if she had her own reality TV show, but she knew, for the most part, people at the SGC just cared. It was an odd environment, filled with military and non-military personnel, and with the everyday risks of traveling through the Gate, people just naturally formed close bonds. She loved her job, and a majority of the people she worked with.

"Oh, by the way…I spoke to MacKay last week. I guess the grape vine has spread to Atlantis via the Daedelus. He was not impressed."

"I'll send him a basket of oranges."

"Jack!"

They both got up and dressed. Sam had finally fully converted her wardrobe to maternity wear at home. She grumbled about the stretch pants, but Jack always told her that they made her ass look great. She figured now that it was two axe handles wide, he was being kind. The military had created a maternity uniform that was in her opinion, hideous, so she was forever going to the PX for larger BDU pants and shirts. It seemed like the propensity for the higher echelon to put on a little weight after they left the field, was working in her favour, but if the boys didn't stop growing, she was going to have to rethink the 'dreaded smock' as she referred to it.

"One of the physicists told me that his wife had twins." She told Jack as she struggled with the stretch pants. "One was 6 lbs 4 oz and the other was 6 lbs 7 oz."

Jack cringed.  
"Those were two full sized babies, Jack. Caroline says that I'm on my way to have two healthy babies, but I don't know if I can deal with over 12 lbs of baby. I mean, that's a lot of baby."

"You may have to consider a C-section."

"I'm thinking a sarcoughagus!"

They were both dressed and as Jack was just about to pick up his luggage to take with them downstairs, he stopped to pat her on the back. There was nothing he could say, literally because at that moment there was a bright light and the next thing they knew General Jack O'Neill and Colonel Samantha Carter were standing on the deck of an Asgaard ship. Seconds later the door swished open and Thor strolled in.

"General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, welcome." The little grey guy said. "We received your transmission and decided that it would be best to come to you, rather than discuss this over sub-space."

"Thor, buddy, long time no see! How are the wife and kids?"

Thor tilted his head at O'Neill. He could never quite figure out if the man was being serious or not.

"I have no wife and kids. Colonel Carter, you are with child."

"Children, actually." She looked at Jack sideways, some days it felt like three.

"We would be most appreciative if you would let us examine you. It has been millennia since our scientists have had access to a pregnant female."

"We can…discuss it…but first? The Ori?"

"Oh, and does anybody else know that you're here? I have a meeting in Washington that it looks like I'm not going to make." Jack said looking around to see if Daniel or Teal'C were there.

"I have informed General Landry that you are with us. He said to tell you that he'd place the call…I assume you know what that means?" Not much for facial expressions were the Asgaard, but the rapid blinking of their large eyes usually meant confusion.

"Yeah, good then, I'm all yours."

"Yes. Colonel Carter? Do you require anything?  
"  
"Well, Daniel would be a lot of help…can you bring…" before she could finish her sentence a bright light flashed and Daniel and Teal'C stood in front of her.

"Hey, guys…Thor's here!" Jack informed them.

"Indeed." Teal'C replied.

"We have new members of the team now as well, Thor."

"Yes, Colonel Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran…would you like them here as well?"

There was another flash of light and the other two members of SG1 appeared. Once Cam realized where he was, he looked like a kid in a candy store.

"An Asgaard ship? Sweet!"

"This is the Samantha Carter. It is the newest of our ships. You may investigate but please…" and Thor's eyes looked at Jack. "…do not touch anything."

Jack lifted his hands in surrender and had a look of innocence on his face.

"The Samantha Carter huh?"

"Thor, we need to discuss the Ori."

Sam was honoured that the Asgaard had named a ship after her, but recently she'd been using the washrooms a lot, and from previous experience, the Asgaard didn't get human anatomy. She wanted to get this over with a quickly as possible.

"Yes." The diminutive grey alien lit up the view screen in front of them.

"Since the Replicator's destruction and the relocation of our race once again, we have taken the time to investigate the information that was most recently retrieved from General O'Neill's brain."

Thor gestured towards the screen.

"You can see here that most of the information that was in the last Repository was information we already possessed."

Sam looked at the screen in awe. There was technology and mathematical formulas spinning by that would change Earth's scientific community forever. She was looking at information that could advance development beyond merely space travel. It was the scientific equivalent of the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail?

"Daniel? The Holy Grail…could it be the Grail?"

The archaeologist virtually smacked his forehead. Of course, they were looking for the Grail…the Sangreal…it was the interstellar Da Vinci Code!

"The Sangreal." Daniel replied. "Of course, historians, archaeologists, knights and Templar's have never found it because…"

"It's on another planet." Jack had caught the train of thought.

"Thor, is there any reference to the Holy Grail or Sangreal in the information that the Ancients left behind?" Sam asked.

Thor looked at the information. He twisted a couple of the egg shaped crystals on the table in front of him.

"There is no reference to either. We have been unable to access some of the information located in the Repository. It seems to have been encrypted in a way that defies our technology."

This caught Sam's interest. "Encrypted how?"

She and Thor began to go over the data, with Daniel throwing in other historical references as he thought of them.

Teal'C joined Jack in watching Cam and Vala explore. He was keeping an eye on Vala so that she didn't cause an intergalactic incident by pocketing something that she thought was valuable and turned out to be the consciousness of a powerful Asgaard.

"I believe that we discussed the possibility that it was this Grail a long time ago. Daniel Jackson seemed to dismiss it."

"The Grail, as with everything involved with this, was supposed to be a myth. 'Course most of the stuff we've dealt with over the last ten or so years, was supposed to be a myth. I don't think Daniel was thinking that the Grail was involved because of its religious connotations."

"Uh yes, the Christian's belief in the Grail is rather pronounced throughout the literature surrounding Merlin. I have done a great deal of research about the mythos of Camelot, Arthur and Merlin."

"So you know the Knight's who said Nee, huh?"

Teal'C looked at O'Neill with a lifted eyebrow. He had rented the DVD after Colonel Mitchell's reference to it. The Jaffa did find British humour more appealing than some of his previous movie experiences.

"I am familiar with them, yes O'Neill."

"Good, that's good T."

When the time came, Sam finally relented and used the onboard facilities. They were as uncomfortable as she remembered, made even worse by her added bulk. She had no choice and was still grumbling about bathrooms and stretch pants when she returned to the group.

Jack patted her on the low back knowing that, even though she was in great shape, her feet had to be hurting after standing up for hours. She smiled and sighed happily when he rubbed a little. She hadn't realized how tired her back was until he patted her there.

"Get Thor to grab you a chair." He whispered into her ear.

"I'm okay. We won't be at this much longer, we aren't making any headway. Damn it."

"What's the problem?"

"There's stuff here we can't get at." They were no longer whispering.

"Could it be the technologies don't mesh?"

She looked at him like he'd grown horns.

"That's exactly what it is. The Ancients encrypted the information in a way that the Asgaard can't access."

"Well, now, I'm no expert here, but what if the Ancients expected this to be downloaded into a brain and not a computer? I mean, I know that these guys are good, but…?"

Thor looked over at Jack.

"I believe you may be correct O'Neill, but that does not help us in this situation."

"Doesn't it?"

The Asgaard blinked rapidly.

"Well, it may be a dumb idea, but isn't that what we excel at? What if we put the information back inside my head? Couldn't we maybe get at it that way?"

"Do you remember anything from the last time it was there?" Daniel asked.

"We didn't even know the Ori existed at that point. There was so much stuff in there that I didn't get a look at anything other than what we needed to take care of the Replicators. Let me have another go."

Sam gritted her teeth. The scientist in her knew that it was as good an option as any right now, but the woman and mother in her really, really didn't want Jack to risk his life like this.

"Is it safe?" Cam asked from across the room.

Thor looked around at the group.

"There is always a risk, but I feel that it is an acceptable one."

"An acceptable risk? How do you make that decision? He may die, but hey we may find that Merlin's information is somewhere else, so it's a good thing." Sam's emotions got the better of her for a moment.

"Colonel Carter, I make the decision based on the fact that there is currently enough of the Repository stored in O'Neill's mind, that we will not have to down load a large portion of what we have on file."

Cam looked at Jack. "You still have some of that stuff in there?"

Jack shrugged, he didn't like to make a big deal out of it, but yes he did have a little more upstairs than he did before the last down load.

"So, you wouldn't have to download the complete Repository, only the portions that you can't decrypt as is?"

"Yes." Thor nodded in his sage way.

Sam and Jack said more in a look than they could have with words. They had promised each other that their emotional relationship, their personal life, would not interfere with the job. Sam was having trouble keeping her emotions at bay, but she knew that this was the way it had to be. She gave him a subtle nod. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sam and Jack shared adjoining bio-beds in the Asgaard version of the infirmary. Sam had approved of a non-invasive scan of her body while Jack underwent the reprogramming of the Ancient information. At some point Heimdall had made an appearance. It seemed their old friend would be in charge of both patients

"Heimdall, we have on stipulation. We do not want to know the gender of the babies." Sam informed the Asgaard scientist.

"You do not wish to know the gender of your offspring? Do you not wish to prepare for them?"

"Surprise is a big part of becoming parents Heimdall, so please, don't say anything."

"Of course."

The Asgaard scan began. Sam lay perfectly still wanting desperately to be over at the next bed monitoring Jack's condition. She had agreed to this and she would go through with it.

She saw Asgaard buzzing around both of them. Jack was in a bed more like the one he'd crawled into on Antarctica. Her bed was like the one that they'd rescued Thor in back on Anubis' ship. The group muttered in Asgaard as they conducted their work.

"Do you wish to know anything about your offspring?" Heimdall asked.

"Are they healthy? Heart, lungs, everything progressing as it should?"

"From the information that has been shared with us from your medical knowledge, I can say that yes, the offspring are progressing as they should. They are currently each approximately 1 pound 12 ounces, if I am correct in translating your measurements, and about 9 inches from cranium to anus."

Sam cringed; these boys were well on their way to being nearly full size babies. It was going to hurt. She wished that she could blame their size completely on Jack, but the truth was at 5 foot 9 inches she didn't have tiny genes either. 

"As long as they are healthy."

She cast an eye of to where Jack was laying. He was still, either unconscious or asleep, she couldn't tell. Heimdall informed her that they had gotten all of the information that they could from her scan and she was okay to go. She rolled off the bed and asked for a chair to sit on while she waited for Jack. Heimdall asked her to wait with the others from SG1 but the look she gave the Asgaard quickly changed his mind. They worked around her.

"Jack….Heimdall says that the babies are healthy, and that they're nearly 2 pounds each. That's almost 4 pounds of baby. They are going to be big boys!"

The man in the bed didn't move, but she was pretty sure that he heard her. It made her feel better to think that he did.

His eyes fluttered open a little while later. There was recognition but when he spoke, it was in Ancient.

"Daniel, he's awake!" She called out.

Daniel came over and translated for her.

"He says that he has accessed something, but it is difficult for him to focus on it."

Heimdall slipped in. He adjusted on of the crystals on the bedside unit. Jack's eyes closed again and the next thing Sam heard was Jack coming through the ships coms.

"Is this thing on?" He asked.

The lights flickered.

"Jack, you need some new material." Daniel said to no one in particular.

The lights came back on.

"He did that the last time." Daniel told Sam. She had missed it being kidnapped by Fifth and all.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yup…it takes a little getting used to but its okay. So, what am I looking for?"

Daniel took over. "You need to access any information that refers to the Ori."

There was a pause.

"Okay, I got the history of the Ori, who they are what they want…the whole split with the Ancients of Atlantis…"

"Can you find any reference to Merlin?" Sam asked.

Another pause, longer than the last time.

"Jack?" Daniel prompted.

"I think you guys might want to head to the control room. There's stuff here that I'm going to need to show you."

Bright lights filled the room and Sam and Daniel realized that they, along with Jack, had been transported to the rest of the group.

Cam was sitting at a consol looking at schematics. He was enthralled with anything the Asgaard would let him see on the inner workings of their space crafts. After flying the X303 and being a passenger on the Daedelus, the hyper-drive technology was his new hobby. He may have come across as the jock but he was a smart guy, and he knew that access to this information was once in a lifetime.

Teal'C stood stoically across the room. He was watching his friend undergo evasive procedures, and even though it was at the hands of friend not foe, it was not something he enjoyed. He would have taken O'Neill's place, if he could have, but even with the Tretonin in his system, the Ancients would regard him as Jaffa. He could not have done anything more to help, no more than Daniel or Sam could have.

Vala hadn't pocketed anything, not because Teal'C had her in his sights but because the Asgaard were a force that even the Goa'uld didn't mess with. She knew how to be diplomatic when she needed to be especially if she was stranded on their ship at the mercy of their leader. Goa'uld belief was that the Asgaard were their only true equal and even though it was the Taur'i that had finally defeated them, Vala was still wary of upsetting the little grey men. Even though she was no longer Goa'uld, she retained their memories.

Now everyone gathered around the terminal that Cam was sitting at. The schematics he'd been admiring blinked and were replaced with Ancient symbols. It seemed that Jack had been busy. He had plundered his way through the Ancient texts looking for and finding information on Merlin and or Myrrdin.

Gate addresses suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Jack, what are we looking at?" Daniel asked.

"It says here there is a way to stop the Ori. A weapon, disassembled into seven pieces and placed on seven planets will stop the Ori from advancing. There is a hitch though. Each piece is protected by a challenge. This was put in place to prevent the unworthy from gathering them. Ah crap…"

It was odd to hear the words 'Ah Crap' coming over the speakers of the Samantha Carter, but that was Jack.

"We have found one of the pieces…it was blown up with you and Carter. There are six pieces left."

"Are we going to be able to make it work without that piece?"

"Looks like they are of equal importance, but we might still have a chance. Thor? What's that?"

Thor was at another consol.  
"I see it General O'Neill. It is a long range transmission from one of our outposts on the edge of your galaxy. It seems that the Ori are starting to move again, without the 'Supergate'."

Carter and Mitchell perked up. "What are you getting?" Mitchell asked.

"The transmission states that the Asgaard at that outpost are receiving information of their long range sensors. The information is coming from a great distance, but it seems to be a subspace transmission from another outpost that is receiving from a further outpost."

"Twilight bark." Cam muttered. He got the same blank response as Dr Lee had gotten.

"Think of it as a 4 by 100 relay, but the baton is information rather than an aluminum tube."

This seemed to satisfy the Taur'i members of the team. Teal'C and Vala just shrugged, well Vala shrugged and Teal'C was definitely shrugging inside.

"Jack? Can you tell us what the weapon does?" Sam asked.

"It says, and I quote, 'the defenders of the faith must part take in a quest. The Knights of the Round Table…hey do we have a round table? I think we're going to need a round table."

"Jack!" Sam urged.

"Sorry, 'the knights of the round table must be pure of mind. This is the only true way to prevent the Ori from overtaking the Kingdom. Beware Morgan LeFey and all like her, as they will not help, but in their way, may hinder'."

"Great, not only are we working against the Ori, we're working against the Ancients?" Vala spoke for the first time in a long while. She was never this quiet.

Sam turned to Daniel who was lost in thought.

"I didn't think that the Ancient would get involved…?"

Daniel tilted his head. He was thinking about what he knew of the Ancients and it was at cross purposes.

"Thing is, they probably don't give a damn about us, but if there is a weapon capable of stopping the Ori, wouldn't that mean it was capable of stopping the Ancients? When we ran into Morgan LeFey on Atlantis, she was somewhat helpful, until the rest of the Ancients got wind of it. They pulled her away, so that she wouldn't be able to tell us anything else. I'm starting to wonder though if all of the warnings that we're getting about her, aren't based on Merlin's concern that she might know more than him."

"Professional jealousy?" Vala asked.

"The Ancients are nothing if not self important." This came over the speakers.

Jack's opinion of the Ancients hadn't changed. He wasn't a big fan of the Ancients, anymore than he was a big fan of the Tok'ra. The only reason he respected the Asgaard was, although they could hold back at times, they were usually helpful when they were needed. Occasionally they even needed the help of the SGC. Thor had earned Jack's respect over the years, and it seemed that the team of SG1 had earned Thor's. It was a working relationship that benefited both.

"Anyway, I don't think they'll stop us from finding the weapon, I'm just concerned that they may stop us from using it."

"Why? They can't like the Ori any more than we do."

Cam was confused, of course he hadn't the experience with the Ancients that the original members of the team had.

"Yes, but they Ancients play by their own set of rules. And I don't think Oma will be around to help us."

The group was mulling this over when Heimdall entered. At least they thought it was Heimdall, without a name tag they could never be 100 sure of which Asgaard they were dealing with. Heimdall approached Thor and spoke in Asgaard.

Sam looked at the Supreme Commander and was about to ask him what was happening, when Thor raised a finger, subtly telling her that they would discuss it later.

"Is there anything else there, O'Neill?" Teal'C asked.

"It just says that there is hope. The pure of mind will persevere."

"So, we still need to be pure of mind…I had hoped that the reference was to mean we'd find our answers in the Repository. Damn."

Sam looked at the bed where Jack lay. They'd gotten some good data, but not the answers they were looking for. She noticed that he was pale and that his breathing was a little more laboured than when they'd first started. Now was probably a good time to get him out of there.

"Thor, I think we've accessed everything that we're going to. Can you put the General…back together?"

"I believe that would be for the best."

"Hey, wait a minute…there's other stuff here!" Jack squawked over the speakers. "I'm looking at all sorts of things that we could use."

Heimdall muttered something to Thor and Thor nodded.

"General, it is time that you return. The information will still be there, but I believe that the Samantha Carter must take its leave."

Sam looked at the Asgaard in interest. What had Heimdall said to Thor that made the Supreme Commander seem a little bit anxious? Her train of thought was derailed by a curse coming from Jack's bio-bed.

"Sum-bitch…I'll never get used to the headache."

He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. He was still pale, but his breathing was back to normal.

"Daniel, the Asgaard medical scans detected a problem in your low back. They can fix it…do it!"

"Jack…"

Daniel had made his wishes clear on the use of alien technology to heal him. He had been through this with Jack, writing a living will stating that he didn't want 'extraordinary measures' taken to save his life including the use of alien devices. He had been there, done that.

"They aren't the Goa'uld Daniel. We need you at 100 to find the pieces of the weapon. I know how you feel, and I wouldn't ask you to do this, unless it was absolutely necessary. Go with Heimdall, it won't hurt and if you are a good boy, maybe you'll get a treat."

Daniel threw Jack a dirty look, but he knew that the General was right. He needed to do the reprehensible. Jack had taken a symbiot; Daniel could undergo an Asgaard treatment.

Jack was still sitting on the bed. Daniel had followed Heimdall out of the room, to his own bio-bed, no doubt. Sam approached Jack.

"What's the matter?" She whispered. Teal'C joined them.

"Just feeling a little woozy." Jack responded. He reached out and place a comforting hand on Sam's arm. "Everything's good…I just forgot how much this little 'trip' takes out of me. You okay?"

"Heimdall says that everything's good. Did you peak?"

"At?"

"The babies?"

"Nope, I promised that I'd be good. You're sure that you don't want to know?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, we wait. What do you think T?"

"I believe that the children will be boys."

Sam sighed. It was good to have the team together. Cam and Vala joined the original members and they all looked around at where they were.

"We can do this." Cam stated.

"You bet your ass we can." Jack swung his legs over the edge of the bed, not yet ready to commit to standing on his own. "We been through worse…"

"We have?" Teal'C raised an eyebrow.

"We have…Replicators, Goa'uld, they went down, and the Ori are next. Then we'll live happily ever after."

Vala piped up. "What about the Wraith?"

Everybody glared at her. One evil alien at a time. 


	5. Chapter 5

Sam met the rest of SG1 in the Gateroom. They'd been to three of the planets Jack had found in the Repository and had gathered pieces of the Merlin Puzzle from each. This was their fourth planet and Sam was curious to see what they'd bring back. So far the pieces weren't matching up to create anything that she could identify.

"Okay," Daniel griped as he handed her today's piece. "These quests are getting on my nerves."

The team all looked tired. It had been a long month of Gate travel. Sam felt bad that she couldn't accompany them, but she was getting to the point in her pregnancy where balance was getting more difficult. If she forgot and stood up too fast she'd tip over backwards.

Jack strolled into the Gateroom before Daniel could continue.

"So, if it isn't Indiana Jones?" He teased.

Daniel just glared.

"If I didn't know better I'd say Spielberg had written this. Today's game? Well, remember in high school Algebra class, when you thought to yourself, 'when am I ever going to use this?' Today was when."

Sam and Jack both smothered grins, each for different reasons. Sam had loved algebra class and Jack, had slept through most of it. Luckily they both had an aptitude for the subject.

"Good news is," Daniel continued. "Seems Cam is an idiot savant when it comes to math. The guy does long division in his head!"

The savant in question just shrugged.

"So this is the next piece?"

Sam looked at the thing in her hand. It was another piece of a puzzle that she was struggling with. She had said to Jack, after the first two pieces were recovered, that it would have been nice if Merlin had included a picture of the jigsaw she was trying to fit together. He laughed and said that he had faith in her.

"Any idea of what this is going to be when we get all of the parts?" Cam asked. He leaned against the railing of the ramp to the gate.

"Finished?" Sam replied and then realized that she'd been around Jack way too long. She hadn't been this sarcastic before they started living together.

"Sorry, I still don't know. The pieces aren't even fitting together yet. I'm hoping that this one will help. It looks like other pieces might fit into this one."

"Good luck." Cam heaved himself off of the rail. "If nobody needs me, I'm heading for the infirmary, shower and bed. May be not in that order."

The rest of the team followed.

Jack and Sam watched them leave. They both missed the adventure of heading out through the Gate, but, they were gearing up for their own adventure.

"So, I thought Daniel was in a much better mood than the last time they came home." Jack said, following Sam out of the room.

"Yes well the last time he had to translate the word Jerusalem into Ancient then they had to step only on the tiles on the floor that spelled it. Vala came in handy; she's the only one with small enough feet."

They made their way back to Sam's lab. Jack started to rummage around, looking for something. It always made Sam nervous when Jack rummaged in her lab.

"What are you looking for?" She asked.

"The Globe. I wanted to see if there was anything else that I could get from it."

"I think that we have everything we're going to get from that. Why don't you go see if Daniel is done with the 'PDA'? I could use it in here."

"Trying to get rid of me Carter?"

She smiled serenely. "What would ever give you that idea?"

Jack shook his head and left. A Major General errand boy. That's what he was turning into.

He ran into Daniel in the hallway outside of the infirmary. All SG teams needed to be medically cleared once back on the base, standard protocol. They'd debrief in a couple of hours, as they all looked as tired as Cam had. Daniel handed the 'PDA' over to Jack and sighed.

"It's not that I'm not enjoying this, but some days, I just wish for the simplicity of fighting the Goa'uld. Go through the Gate, shoot, get shot at, come home."

"I know what you mean." Jack scrubbed his face with his hand. "Ever since I moved to Homeworld, I've felt a little useless. You guys are out there fighting the good fight and I…well I get to go to meetings. Yippee!"

"Hey, if you hadn't moved, you and Sam wouldn't be together. Remember that. You are a damn lucky man, Jack O'Neill."

"I know, can't quite figure out what she's thinking, I'm a little long in the tooth to be starting a family now…"

"Jack, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You two should have been together years ago, so now that you are, just enjoy it."

"Did you ever feel…I mean when I was leading the team…did I ever show preference?"

"To Sam? Hell, I think we all prefer Sam. No, Jack, you never did anything different because you loved her. At times I thought you could have done more…shown her more."

"You don't think my feelings for her ever affected my decisions?"

"In the field? Never. She was always…how can I say this with out worrying that if she hears about it, I'll get my ass kicked. I think, though we all know that she is a great soldier and a brilliant scientist, we will always treat her differently, because she is a woman. Face it, we all have been violated in one way or another, you with Ca'nan, Teal'C's been brainwashed countless times, and at last count I believe I've died 4 times? She's been through her fair share of torture, but we've never faced the truth. There are more ways to violate a woman than there are men. We've been lucky. She's been strong."

"You think that she's been...?"

"Raped? Who knows? She'll never tell us. I don't think that she could even if she wanted to. There are just some things; she'd never want us to feel responsible for. All I'm saying is that you two have each other. It's always made me mad, that there you were, in the same room as the woman you loved, but you never did anything about it. I don't think there would have been anything that would have kept me from Shar'e if I'd been able…"

"How'd we get here Daniel? You and me? Ten years ago, you were the geekiest person I'd ever met."

"And you were a dumb-assed Colonel." Daniel shrugged. "We've grown Jack."

Yeah…I'd better get this to Carter."

Daniel smiled at Jack's retreating back. Not one for sharing his thoughts or feelings, Jack O'Neill could let you know how he felt easily enough. He'd just save your life, your soul, occasionally.

That night, after Sam had showed Jack a few new ways to see stars, Jack was thinking.

"I can hear the gears grinding General." She said curled up on her side, blonde head resting on his chest. "What are you thinking about?"

"Something Daniel said."

"Don't, it'll just give you a headache."

"Samantha, I need to know something."

She looked up at him, just making out the fear in his face in the darkness of their room.

"What?"

"In all of the times that we were capture by one bad guy or another…did anyone ever…?"

"Ever what Jack?"

"Ever hurt you…uh…"

"I've been hurt a couple of times Jack…died once or twice I think."

"No I mean…were you ever raped?"

Sam's body tensed. This was something that she never thought she'd have to talk about. She didn't know what to say. To tell him the truth…

Her silence said a lot.

"When, Samantha?"

"I don't want to talk about this. Things happen, Jack, I have had a lot of training to prepare myself for a lot of things. I can't think about the past like that. Not with the babies and you and my life now. There is nothing to be gained from dwelling…I know who I am what I am and I'm happy. I work everything out in my own way."

"I'd give my life to keep you safe."

"And I would have done the same. Not because I love you, but because it is my job. I would have given my life for Teal'C, Daniel, Cam, even Vala, but that's just who we are. That's what we signed up for. Now though, I couldn't. There are two people who need me for their very survival. I want you to think about this Jack. Whatever may come, you have to come home to us, because there are three people who need you more than anything. I want you to promise me that you will remember that. When the Ori come, and they will, you have to remember that we come first. If that means turning tail and running like hell, I want you to do that."

It wasn't a way of thinking that Jack felt comfortable with. He'd never put his wants or needs before those of his country. But the woman in his arms was more important than the world. Without her the Ori could have the place, he didn't care. Without her, he had no life. He would die, for her, for the babies, but maybe just maybe not for his country anymore. There was something more important than the job he'd devoted his life to. There was Sam.

"Where did this come from?" Sam asked quietly.

"We were just talking…Daniel and I. I've thought about it, having you on the team. Wondered if there were things that you never told me. We started an open door policy on our relationship…"

"I know…but like you once told me, there are things that you are better off just not knowing. It's been a long time since I was in a situation like that. I'm okay. And I don't think I'll be putting myself in the line of fire anymore. I think it might be time for me to look at a different way to serve. Maybe going off world isn't something I'll do on a regular basis. It's been ten years, maybe now I need to think about the good I can do here."

"Are you thinking about quitting?"

"No, just staying put. I've been putting in a lot of time on the science that we are bringing back through the Gate. When I'm not looking at the Merlin stuff…there is a lot of stuff that I could work on."

"Sounds boring."

"You've said that about me before, Jack. I like doing this. I need to be home at night, making sure the babies are happy…I'm not giving up my work, just going out and getting it."

"I'll be home at night."

"And that is something I'm grateful for. I don't want to be like my Dad. I don't want to be a visitor in my children's lives. We don't need to make any life altering decisions tonight. Let's just wait and see."

He had been running his fingers through her hair as they were talking. His fingers moved to the back of her head and tilted her face up so that he could look into her eyes.

"I love you Samantha Carter. I have for a very long time."

"I know, and I love you too. Are we okay?"

"Yeah, I'd still like to get married."

"I've been thinking about that."

"You have?" He was shocked.

"Yep, maybe we should talk about it. I never really took your feelings into consideration when I flew off the handle about marriage. I know, knew even then, that it wasn't strictly about the babies. You are an old fashioned guy, deep down."

"Well at least you said old fashioned, not just old."

"We can talk…" she yawned and stretched trying to get comfortable.

"Just not right now?"

"Suddenly very sleepy. Sorry." He could tell she was struggling to stay awake.

"Okay, you sleep. We'll talk about this later."

"Night."

"Good night my love."

She sighed and slipped off. Dreams invaded her thoughts that night, but the warmth of Jack's body beside her, kept the worst of them at bay.

Sam was attempting to fit the pieces together when it happened. She was working with the PDA and it started spitting out new data. She could feel a tingling in her fingers when she touched the device. She called Daniel to her lab to come have a look.

"I'm not sure what you've done, but I can't seem to get it to do it." He said.

"It just started to process the pieces. I felt a buzz when I touched it."

Jack strolled into the lab. He caught up with what was going on and had an idea.

"Where's the globe?'

"Here." Sam had asked Daniel to bring it to her after Jack had brought it up again.

Jack held it in his hand. It started up, displaying the same star chart that it had before. He handed it to Daniel and it stopped. He then nodded at Sam and Daniel handed over the tiny golden globe. In Sam's hand it started to tremble. Suddenly the display changed and schematics where displayed where once there'd been the star chart.

"Damn." Sam jumped for the PDA.

She recorded the new information on the PDA and commanded Daniel to start the interface between her computer and the objects in her hand.

"What the hell?" She muttered.

"Not sure." Jack looked at Daniel for an answer.

"May be…could be that the babies have the gene. Two of them could intensify the ability to control Ancient technology?"

Sam nodded. She was busy trying to comprehend what she was seeing. The data wasn't making sense yet, but she figured that maybe it would, once all of the pieces of Merlin's Gift were put together. Lately she had felt different, nothing that she could put her finger on, but different in her lab. May be the babies where making a difference in her body, more than just the obvious.

"I guess that they could have inherited the gene…I mean why not? It would be passed down from parent to child right?" Daniel was looking at the two soon to be parents.

"Yes."

Jack was trying to figure out what the device was saying. He was remembering what the little girl in his "dream" had said about the globe holding the answers. It was showing them what it wanted them to see.

"We need the other pieces. I think I can put it all together and make it work." 

Sam was getting excited now. 


	6. Chapter 6

Another month went by. The team was overdue. They'd gone for the last piece and the waiting was driving the SGC crazy. Sam was huge now. She knew that the babies would be there soon and she wanted to get everything done before the time came. 

Caroline was making her come into the infirmary ever second day to monitor her blood pressure and the babies heart rates. Multiple births were complicated and the Chief Medical Officer had brought in an OB-Gyn from Peterson. Dr Maxis had been cleared to work at the SGC. It was unusual but Sam was an unusual patient. The Ancient gene that Jack had was definitely showing up in the babies that she carried. She had attempted to activate a variety of other Ancient technologies that the SGC had, and now they worked for her. She'd never had the ability before she became pregnant, so it had to be the babies.

Jack just shrugged it off. He'd known the babies were special; at least that's what he kept telling her. She was pretty sure that it freaked him out as much as it did her. She began to wonder what exactly these babies were going to be and what that meant to them and their future. At least the NID wasn't around to try and take them away.

No one outside of the SGC knew, at least officially. There was always the chance that it had leaked, and Jack wasn't taking any chances. He'd had a multi-camera surveillance system installed in and around the house. The SF's kept an eye on Sam whenever she was in the complex and Jack made damn sure that she was never alone when she traveled to and from the SGC home. They'd decided to be extra careful. Baal was still out there looking for the same thing that they were, and if he got wind of the fact that they were close to completing the weapon, he might do anything to get it away from them. A Goa'uld was still a Goa'uld after all.

She was currently pacing her lab. Sitting for long periods of time was a thing of the past and pacing seemed to help. She needed to know what the device did and the last piece would tell her that.

The phone rang causing her to jump.

"Carter!"

"Hey." It was Jack.

"Anything?"

"Not from SG1…we need to meet with Hank. He wants to tell us something."

"Now?"

"Yup. Grab some milk and meet us in the briefing room."

Sam made a face. She hated milk but she'd drink it for the calcium. At least no one was giving her a bad time about all of the red meat she was eating. Steaks had become a breakfast item at their house. Calcium and iron screw the cholesterol.

She carried her carton of milk into the room. She felt like a kindergartener at snack time. At least she was the first one there and wouldn't have to feel self conscious about settling herself into one of the chairs. Jack and Hank joined her along with a couple of other members of Jack's team.

"We've gotten intel from off world sources. I figured that a member of SG1 should be told at the same time as I briefed the General and Homeworld."

Jack nodded. He agreed that SG1 needed to be kept in the loop; after all, they'd be the ones fighting the Ori. Sam was still a member of the team, even if she was currently based on Earth.

"The Ori are on the move. They seem to be mustering forces for something. The Asgaard and the Tok'ra think it's going to be the show down that we've been waiting for."

"What's giving them that idea?" Jack asked.

"The Tok'ra have a few operatives on some of the Ori occupied worlds. They seem to be using the same tactics that they'd used against the Goa'uld."

"Old dogs, new tricks…" Jack muttered so that only Sam could hear him.

Relations between the Tok'ra, the Jaffa and the people of Earth had been strained since the end of Anubis. Jack, never a big fan of the Tok'ra, hadn't made much of an effort to smooth the ruffled feathers between the three factions. He was happy to work with the Asgaard and the Jaffa, but since Jacob's death, he'd left the Tok'ra up to Landry.

"Why are they telling us? They aren't usually big into the sharing thing." Jack said out loud.

"Because, it seems that the plans include an invasion of Earth."

Sam looked at the men around the table. Most of them had never been involved in fighting off an invading force here.

"They know something." She said.

"Probably, but what?" Landry put that question to the table.

"It would be interesting to know what Baal knows." 

Sam had been thinking about the former Systemlord. She wouldn't put it passed him to side with the Ori, biding his time until he could make a move. He'd tried it on Earth, using them to gather his clones.

"The Tok'ra have kept their collective eyes on Baal and so far he is searching in other areas."

"Is there any indication that he knows what we have found?" Jack asked.

"So far we've been able to keep it quiet."

"How much do the Jaffa know?"

"Teal'C has been giving them as much information as he feels they need. He is still concerned about their leadership, especially after the Dakara incident. So many of them died…." Sam shook her head at the memory.

"Have we been able to track Adria's movements?" Jack asked.

"To a point…she's not hiding, that would be contrary to her whole purpose." They were still uneasy about her ties to Vala, and what that could mean in a battle between the Ori and Earth.

They began to discuss the weapon that Sam had spent the last few months working on.

"There's only one piece left…so far it looks like a small generator. But what that could do, I'm not sure. The PDA is feeding me new data all of the time. I have a couple of working theories but…"

Sam was getting uncomfortable. She struggled to get to her feet and Jack moved to get up. She waved him off as she did it herself. Always the independent one. She began to pace and occasionally rub at the small of her back.

"Care to discuss?" Hank asked.

"Not yet..."

"Damn." Jack muttered.

"What?" Sam and Hank asked together.

"You do both realize that tomorrow is Christmas Eve?"

Neither of them had remembered. With everything that had been happening lately, the days of the week had blurred. Halloween had gone by and Thanksgiving hadn't been celebrated, now they were at Christmas and they hadn't even noticed.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the Ori were planning to invade on Christmas." Hank muttered.

"Well, they missed Ramadan." Jack pointed out.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll wait for Passover?" Sam asked.

They were all trying to lighten the mood, but nobody was laughing. They knew that the time was coming and coming soon, but not one of them felt ready.

Sam had stopped in front of the big window. Her back and her feet ached, and she was worried about her team. They were nearly twelve hours late and every attempt to contact them had resulted in nothing. There were plans already to send SG12 after them.

Jack came up behind her and took over the massaging of her low back. The members of Jack's department had slowly filtered out and Hank had remembered something important he'd left in his office, so they were alone.

"They'll be back, with the last piece, you'll put everything together and we'll all live happily ever after." Jack said.

She smiled. He'd once told her that she was well known for pulling the answer out of her butt, she hoped that this wasn't the one time that she couldn't.

"I hope so….Oh man."

Sam place a hand on 'the bump' and screwed up her face.

"Are you okay?"

"Braxton-Hicks…Caroline warned me about them."

"Ah. The boys will be here before we know it." Jack wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah…don't know what scares me more…the impending invasion or the impeding invasion."

"Huh?"

"I sort of feel like the boys will be invading our lives…you know?"

"Yeah…it's a scary concept, but we'll be okay. We are seasoned Air Force officers, we've fought the Goa'uld, we defeated the Replicators…two small boys won't be that difficult. Really. I promise."

"You always keep your promises, right?"

"Right."

"We need to start the nursery."

"We painted it. It's a nice green."

"Yeah, it's a nice green, but we don't have the crib or cribs set up. Have we decided on one or two? I mean I've read some studies that say that twins like to sleep together, at least for the first little while. They are used to being together. But we want them to be their own people, not just 'the twins'."

"I have a feeling that for the first little bit, they'll be sharing our room. I've read studies that say sometimes twins can be on separate schedules and we don't want to spend the whole night running back and forth to the nursery."

They stood in silence for a bit, waiting for the Gate to magically activate and spit out their friends. It didn't happen. Neither of them was able to sit still for long so after a few minutes they moved away from the window. Both of them had work to do so they parted ways at the elevator. Jack went to his office and Sam made her way back to her lab.

She sat on the magic chair and went over the data that the PDA had come up with. Sam downloaded the information from the PDA to her computer on a daily basis. Daniel always took it with them, as it was a big part of the quests that they were on. They'd found that after they completed whatever task Merlin had set for them, they needed to run the PDA over the object before they picked it up. It kept things from blowing up.

She couldn't seem to get comfortable today. She shifted around in the chair trying to find a place where the boys didn't press on her bladder or try to force her diaphragm out through her nose. Even the overwhelming feelings she was experiencing at the thought of becoming a mother couldn't keep her from wanting the boys out of there soon.

The phone rang. Sam stood and waddled over to it.

"Carter."

"It is time to go home…" Jack said.

"What time is it?"

"2100."

"Damn. I've been working on this stuff for two hours? Have they sent SG12 out yet?"

"No Hank's decided to give them another couple hours."

"I think I'll stay here tonight. I want to be here when they get back."

"Samantha…you won't do anyone any good if you tire yourself out."

"I know, I know, I just want to make sure that I get to work on this as quickly as possible. We're close and I know that the Ori are closer…"

"Okay, I'll meet you in one of the VIP rooms in ten minutes. I will send and SF to get you if you are late. Put your stuff away and meet me on level 17. You need to rest."

She sighed. He was right, she was tired. Hanging up the phone she shut down for the night. She was glad he had agreed to stay on the base, because if Jack wanted to, he could be as stubborn as a mule if he wanted to be. She stopped only when another one of the Braxton-Hicks contractions hit. They were coming quiet often today, which only made her more anxious to get the weapon completed quickly.

The door of the elevator opened on level 17 and Jack was leaning up against the opposite wall waiting.

"I have a minute and a half."

"You made it, I'm happy not to have to send the SF's after you. Now get your beautiful butt into the VIP room and get some rest."

"Aren't you coming?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

Sam knew he was teasing her but she blushed anyway. She moved passed him and headed for the room. He'd lit candles, ones he must have stolen from Teal'C, and even had music playing softly in the back ground. It would have been romantic if she wasn't asleep on her feet. During the ride up from level 19 she'd hit the wall.

Within minutes they were in bed. Sam lay on her side and moaned when Jack started rubbing her low back. She was asleep immediately.

They were awakened sometime later by a phone call.

Jack rolled over and grabbed the phone before it woke Sam. He wasn't quick enough.

"Okay, give us a minute. We'll meet you in the briefing room."

Sam was watching him.

"We have a guest."

"Oh?"

"That was Walter. Delek just came through the Gate."

They dressed and headed down to the Gate Room.

"General O'Neill… Colonel Carter? It has been a while."

Delek looked a little worse for wear. He was dirty and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. He hadn't been to Earth since Jacob had died.

"What's up Delek?" Jack asked.

Hank came in. It seemed he'd decided to stay overnight too.

"The Ori are coming." The Tok'ra informed them.

"Yeah, we know that." Jack looked at him as if he were challenged.

"Now."

"Excuse me?" Hank asked.

"There is an Ori ship on its way to Earth as we speak. They are planning a two prong attack."

"By air and by Gate?" Jack asked.

"Yes…I have informed the High Council and they are contacting the Jaffa. It may be time to inform the Asgaard."

Walter had been skulking in the background. He had pulled a double shift at the controls and now scurried out of the Briefing Room to send a message to Earth's allies.

"How long do we have?" Sam asked.

"Not long." Delek looked at Sam's belly, and then back to her eyes. "You are with child."

"Yes."

"Congratulations. Your father would have been proud."

Sam blanched at the reference to her Dad. She didn't have Jack's full on distrust of the Tok'ra, but in the last few months of her Dad's life, even his relationship with the High Council had been strained.

Before Jack could comment Sam said, "Thank you."

"To the end he was a well respected member of the Council."

This time Sam wasn't quick enough.

"Have the Tok'ra always been such terrible liars?" Jack asked.

This time Delek blanched. There had been a strain between Jacob slash Selmak and the High Council and Delek knew it.

Soya, Delek's symbiot spoke. "We are aware that there was a strain between the High Council and Selmak in the last few months of his life. In hindsight the Council regrets that. We truly wish we were able to tell your father that."

Sam looked at Delek/Soya and said, "We can discuss this later, right now we need to know everything you know about the Ori invasion."

"Yes. We have had Tok'ra on many of the Ori inhabited planets. There has been an increase in activity on new planets…as if they were gathering an army."

Sam looked around at the officers that were gathering in the room. "We know that the foot soldiers of the Ori army are just followers, only the Priors are given any direct powers from the Ori themselves."

"But the Ori do get their powers from their followers." Jack responded.

"Yes, it's a visicous circle. The Ori need their followers to worship them and they need their power to convince their followers that they are Gods." Sam replied.

"Sounds a lot like the Goa'uld to me." Jack said looking at Delek.

"Earlier today I was contacted by an operative that said the Ori are moving. They were gathering people onto their ships. The planets that they were on are within close proximity of your galaxy."

Delek stepped closer to Sam. Although he knew that she was not the Tokr'a's biggest fan, she was still the warmest reception in the room.

"The Priors have the ability to move through your iris. They can get into the SGC and then open it up to the foot soldiers. What ever you have planned, it needs to happen soon, before the Ori and their Priors invade this base, because once they are able to enter through the Star Gate, the ships are merely an after thought."

"Sir!" Both Jack and Hank turned at Walter's exclamation.

"What is it Walter?" Hank asked.

"The Asgaard have sent a communication through to us. There is movement by the Ori away from a majority of their occupied worlds. Supreme Commander Thor has informed us that the Asgaard fleet is making it's way to Earth."

The anxiety level in the room ratcheted up. Jack's staff was starting to move around, they were going to need a War-room and this would be as good as any. People started to come in and out and computers were hauled in. Jack was directing from one corner and Hank was splitting his time between the Control and Briefing rooms. Sam felt under foot, so she started to slip out.

Jack caught her at the door.

"You should go."

"I am…I'll be in my lab. Are we sending SG12 now?"

"No Samantha, I mean you should go home. Away from this."

"No, I'm not leaving yet. When SG1 gets here and you have them as back up, I'll think about leaving, but you need someone at your back, and right now that's me."

"I wouldn't want anyone else at my back Colonel, but I'm worried about you and the babies. Take this however you must but you aren't as quick on your feet as you were. You need to remember that you are carrying two babies in there and…"

"Trust me General," Sam's back was up. "I am fully aware of the fact that I'm huge. I realize it every five minutes when I need to pee, I realize it every time I stand up and have to shift my balance so that I don't tip over backwards, and I remember it every time I put on my shoes and think, for just a second, that I can't see if I've put on two of the same shoes or one brown and one black. I am not the woman I was even a couple of months ago, but I know that even with the extra weight, I am still one of the most seasoned airmen in this building, and I can still take care of myself, no matter what."

Jack was chagrinned. He was so happy to see the fire of the fight in her eyes and hear the Lieutenant Colonel he knew and loved, but she was the mother of his children and he wanted her to be safe. He knew that she needed to be here, that she was vital to the fight but he didn't like the fact.

"I'm sorry, I know that you can take care of yourself and the babies…you are also vital to the fight against the Ori…it's just…"

"I know, I'm sorry too, I don't want to fight…with you. I need to be here Jack. I can't change who I am, even for the babies. I am a soldier."

She patted his arm, a huge display of affection for them, and turned to leave, but was interrupted by the wail of the Klaxon. Some one was activating the Gate from off world.

Jack and Sam ran into the control room just as Walter said, "It's SG1's IDC."

"Open the Iris" Jack, Hank and Sam all said together.

Everybody who was able, including Delek made their way to the Gate to greet the missing team. All four members came running through. Daniel had a grin on his face that nearly split it in two.

"We have it Sam!" He yelled holding out something wrapped in a rag. "The last piece. We have it!"

Sam rushed forward to grab the bundle. They were going to make it. Without much more than a 'hey nice to have you back…Gimme' she took off with the piece and the PDA.

The Gate disengaged momentarily. A new wormhole was established almost immediately.

"Tok'ra communication coming through!" Walter said stopping Sam at the big door.

"Stargate Command…this is Tourmant of the Tok'ra. Beware the invasion has started…they are dialing Earth as we speak."

Everybody looked at Delek. He nodded in confirmation. Tourmant was a Tok'ra.

The Gate shut down and Sam yelled up to Walter.

"Dial out…it'll give us at least 38 minutes to figure out what we've got!"

Hank nodded and started giving out commands for a red alert to go out through the mountain. He ordered the marines that were already in the room to head for the armory. He'd leave SG1 to Jack. 


	7. Chapter 7

Sam unwrapped the bundle Daniel had given her. It was a box. She felt the new tingle start somewhere near where the babies rested. The box opened and she found a device. It looked like…

Daniel stuck his head in the door.

"Jack's assigned three SF's to stand outside the door. He threatened them with extended stays at McMurdo if anyone gets past them."

She smiled and waved him in.

"I heard it was three years at NORAD in Winnipeg…" she replied as Daniel and Vala entered.

"Where is this Winnipeg?"

"It's in Canada, Manitoba to be exact. Weirdest weather on Earth I hear. 100 F during the summer and -80 F in the winter. Bugs that carry off small children…humidity and wind-chill…lovely place." Daniel explained.

"And people live there?" Vala asked.

"Hundreds of thousands of them."

"Wow!"

"Did you guys look at this?" Sam asked.

"Yes, that's why we're here."

Daniel came over to her and said. "Jack filled us in. Mitchell and Teal'C are getting their guns, I'm heading to the armory too, but I wanted to tell you what I thought."

"Looks like a compact ZPM." Sam responded steeling his thunder.

"That's what we thought."

"I've got the data from the PDA and I think I know what's next. Dr Lee is on his way in; I just hope he get's here before they shut down the mountain."

"Sam, maybe you should go…"

"Don't start Daniel. I had this argument with Jack. I'm staying, I'm putting this together and then hopefully it'll all be over."

"Do you need us?"

"No, you are better off with Jack."

Daniel turned to leave. He looked back at the woman that he'd fought side by side with for so many years. She'd changed, they all had, but her the most of all, yet she was the same woman who'd come into his life and tested him intellectually everyday since. She was his equal yet so much stronger.

He left but not before saying, "Sam, we'll make it."

"Yes we will."

Vala stood there wondering at the relationship they shared. Daniel was a babe, but she knew without a doubt that Sam saw only Jack as a mate, yet the two scientists were made for each other. She wondered why they'd never seen it.

"It's a long story." Sam said. "I was there when the Goa'uld took Shar'e. He loved her more than life itself. It was a tough time, but our bond is more like that of brother and sister than anything else. To tell you the truth, there's really never been anyone but Jack. From the first day I met him…"

Vala's mouth dropped open. Was Sam reading her mind now?

"I've been waiting a long time for you to ask. People see us together and wonder." Sam looked up from the new piece. "Why are you still here?"

"I wanted to get the Goa'uld hand and ribbon devices. I think that they might come in handy."

Bad pun, even Vala knew it. She was actually waiting there to get Sam alone. Somewhere, deep down Vala felt a connection with Sam that went beyond their team status. She was worried about the babies.

"Good idea. I'll get them."

Sam went over to the vault that they kept some of the really important stuff in. These pieces had never been shipped to Area 51, because up until recently, Sam had been the only one that could activate them. Vala could actually use them easily enough so Sam was finally free. She had never liked been the only one that could use them.

"Keep an eye on them." Sam said quietly.

"Who?"

"All of them…the Generals, Daniel, Teal'C and Cam. They will go in guns blazing, without thinking about the risks…they have to be like that to do the jobs that they do…but we are different. We are women and we always think about the risks…"

"Don't worry, I'll watch over them…you just get this done so that I don't have to watch them for long."

"It's a deal." Sam handed over the Goa'uld tools.

Vala smiled and stuck out her hand. The two shook on it.

Sam cringed as another contraction hit. She was beginning to think that these weren't just Braxton-Hicks but she wasn't going to tell anyone. They had enough on their minds than to worry about her and the babies.

She waited out the pain. These were coming on more often and lasting longer. Damn. She tried to push the thought to the back of her head. She had work to do.

The last piece came out of the box and lit up in her hand. Tingles again. If this was a ZPM then the others probably wouldn't have been able to turn it on. Hell, until now she wouldn't have been able to turn it on.

She slipped the piece into the machine that the other five pieces had become. The PDA started buzzing. The display was running through data faster than she could read. She studied it for a while, pausing to curse under her breath when a contraction came in hot. The boys were becoming impatient.

Suddenly she knew what the machine did and caused a minor panic in the hallway when she let out a shriek of relief.

"Colonel?" One of the SF's stuck his head into her lab.

"I got it!"

"Ma'am?"

"Get General O'Neill, Dr Jackson, everybody!"

"We can't leave ma'am."

"Sure you can."

"No ma'am…we were just informed that the Gate shut down and before we could dial out, the Priors dialed in."

She felt light headed. She grabbed the edge of the table to support herself. 

They were here.

"Airman, we need to go."

"Where ma'am?" Thinking that there was no way he was letting her head down to the Gate room right now.

"Auxiliary Control room, level 16."

He felt better about that. That was farther away from level 28 than they were now.

"I'll need you guys to haul this stuff, because I need to be somewhere where I can see what's going on down there."

She passed the globe over, but the tingle started to bug her. Something told her that she needed it. She grabbed it and slipped it in with all of the other stuff. It was important to the machine…she could feel it.

Sam directed the move. The lab was good, but the main control room would be better. Unfortunately it was unavailable so she was onto plan B.

It took them awhile but they got there. During the trip up the lights had flashed and the elevator had stooped briefly. Sam knew that the backup generators had kicked in and that probably meant that the mountain had been sealed. Dr Lee wasn't getting in.

Once in the smaller control room Sam flipped on the lights and the monitors. She was stunned by the carnage that she saw on the screen. Marines and other members of the SGC were strewn across the floor of the Gate room. She didn't see her team but she knew that they were in the middle of it all.

While two of the SF's set up, the third followed her to the bathroom. He wanted to come in with her but she drew the line there. It was a good thing. Her water broke and there was no way she wanted them to know that.

She cleaned herself up the best she could and headed back to the control room. She needed to concentrate, ignore the fear she felt and get this thing going.

"Okay airmen…this is what we've got. This machine is a Pulse Generator. It creates something like an EM pulse. The data we've been given since the very beginning is that we need to be pure of mind."

The SF's were following, barely.

"I have come to the conclusion that we haven't been thinking about this clearly. The reference to purity of mind didn't really mean the Ancient Database. I think it means the connection that the Ori have with their followers."

Sam was fiddling around with the device, connecting her lap top through a variety of wires that she had developed to get as much information as possible out of Merlin's gift. She was explaining the whole thing to three guys who didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about, but it helped her think. Jack would have stopped her five minutes ago and told her to just do it. These guys either had more patience than Jack, or were actually hesitant to tell a Colonel to shut up and get back to work.

She stopped as a contraction hit. One of the SF's, Henderson his name tag said, looked at her curiously.

"It's nothing."

"I have two children ma'am."

"Braxton-Hicks."

He was pretending to believe her because there was really nothing else he could do, but he didn't think that she was telling him the truth. He'd seen his wife go through this twice.

"Yes ma'am."

Sam continued on with her explanation. "The Ori have a link with their followers, they pass the abilities that the Priors have, through this connection. I think that this device affects that link."

She turned a knob on the side of the device. Lights turned on. She turned to the PDA and flipped back a couple of 'pages'. Next she pressed two buttons and the machine started to hum.

"I think that the piece we blew up was the part that adjusted the frequency of the pulse. We're going to need to do that on our own."

She moved to the computer. There she typed in a couple of things. A new screen appeared. She had created a programme years ago that would identify the frequency of certain weapons that the Goa'uld had created. She'd used it to develop the weapon that they'd used on that first fateful experience with Rodney MacKay. The one that had ended up with her in the infirmary.

Hopefully the frequency of the link that the Ori used to communicate with the Priors would be easy to find. She watched as the numbers scrolled up the screen.

The Globe in her pocket started to vibrate. She pulled it out and gasped as it opened up. It was giving her new data. She made the mistake of turning to one of the monitors. She caught sight of Jack, fear and determination etched into his face as he fired a P90 into the crowd of Priors. It looked as if every Prior in the galaxy had come through for this.

The fight didn't seem to be going well. There seemed like there were more injured SGC personnel than Priors and the army hadn't even come through yet. Sam needed to get this fixed. Right after this contraction.

She noticed, after the pain stopped that there was an indentation on the top of the device. It looked like the Globe would fit in it. It did, and as soon as she placed it there the hum changed. More lights came on and the humming upped in volume and intensity.

"Ma'am!" Henderson shouted.

She turned to the monitor. The Priors stopped. They began shaking and suddenly the all dropped to the floor. It was if they were puppets and their strings had been cut. The fighting stopped.

Sam could see some of the SGC personnel start to tend to their wounded while others disarmed the unconscious Priors. Jack moved through the crowd, coming in from one of the hallways that surrounded the Gate Room. Sam released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. In the background she could make out Teal'C and Cam, Daniel and Vala seemed to be missing, but Sam felt sure that they were okay.

It was chaos. Sam tried to call on the phone but no one was answering. Before she thought of the intercom bright lights filled the room. Men and women began appearing, and when Sam flipped the monitors to see other areas of the base, she saw them there to. They were glowing slightly.

Henderson and his friends stood and walked out of the room. She heard the door click behind them.

Hank approached one of the new comers. Before he got anywhere near him, the man raised and arm and Sam saw the General fly out of the picture. Sam gasped. It was the Ori.

The carnage was incredible. Sam turning from the screen, her stomach rolling at the sight. There had to be something else that she could do. Another button that she could push. She grabbed the machine and felt around it. There, hidden at the base of one of the pieces, an indent. She pressed it.

The Globe opened. The whole machine began to glow, just like the Ori on the screen. Sam watched the machine build up power. She could feel the hairs on her arms and on the back of her neck stand up.

She turned back to the screen. The fighting was intense, but suddenly a bright light filled the room that Sam was in and she felt herself falling. Trying desperately to protect her unborn children, she struggled to land on her knees. When she could finally see again, the monitors were black. She'd been cut off.

She tried to move only to have a strong ribbon of pain cut at her belly. She was definitely in labour and completely alone. She heard nothing outside and that scared her. Making her way to the door she opened it. Her SF guards lay on the floor, two unconscious and the third, Donatello, was struggling to remain conscious. Two women that Sam didn't recognize were laying nearby, both dead.

"Colonel…go back inside…lock the door and stay there." Donatello gasped.

"No time."

Sam bent and grabbed his side arm. She needed to find Jack and SG1. She needed to know what was happening.

Making her way to the elevator she was relieved to find it was still working. She was not even going to think about traveling over ten levels down one of the ladders that made up the emergency evacuation procedures of the base. She pressed the 28 button and began praying, not knowing what she was going to find. On the way down she was hit again by a strong contraction, but thankfully the elevator was moving slowly enough that it was over by the time she got to her floor.

The door slid open and Sam hid behind one on the walls. Gun at the ready she scanned the hallway before she entered. She could hear moaning and muffled shouts as she made her way towards the Gate Room.

She rounded a corner carefully. She had the safety off and the gun preceded her. She gasped when she came face to face with a group of Marines. They were looking for Ori.

"Colonel Carter?" One of the men asked.

"Yes, what happened?"

"Don't know ma'am. The Priors went down, the Ori showed up and then suddenly they were powerless. It was like a switch had been thrown."

"General O'Neill? Can you take me to him?"

"Yes ma'am, he's still in the Gate Room."

"Is he…"

"Barking orders ma'am."

She flipped the safety back on. She followed the men down the corridor to the Gate room.

"Jack!" She yelled. Moving as quickly as she could she made her way to him.

He was battered and bruised but still standing. All four members of SG1 were standing around him.

Jack swung around and started towards her.

"It's over!" He yelled over the noise. "What ever you did worked…it's over!"

Caroline Lam's team was pushing their way through the mess. The Doctor was missing in action, but was probably trying to set up the infirmary to handle the influx of patients.

Jack reached her and grabbed her around the waist. He crushed her to him, squeezing the breath out of her. He was so happy to see her that he felt tears forming in his eyes.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"They stopped…whatever you did, they couldn't do anything."

"It was the device." Daniel said.

SG1 had made their way over.

"It was a Pulse Generator. I didn't realize that until I had the last piece of the puzzle. It sent out the first pulse that seemed to stop the Priors, cut their link. When the Ori showed up, the device started again and there was a flash of light and…"

Sam was looking around at the people injured and dead around her. She had done it, but if she could have been a little quicker, may be she could have stopped the needless deaths.

"They were powerless." Teal'C spoke for the first time.

Daniel reached out for Sam's arm. "It was as if they were no longer Ascended. The machine seemed to strip them of their powers."

"Like Orlin?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't care how or why, I just care that it's over." Jack stepped back from Sam. "We have some cleaning up to do."

"Jack?" Sam grabbed his arm. She bent over at the waist using him to support her. This was the worst one yet.

He grabbed at her. Shock wasn't allowing him to think straight.

"What? What's happening? Carter talk to me!"

"I think that the clean up will have to wait O'Neill." Teal'C said standing nearest the couple.

"The boys are coming…now!" Sam growled between clenched teeth.

"They can't be!" Jack said looking around in panic. He'd been through this before. It would take hours for the babies to show up.

"Oh yes they can. Remember the Braxton-Hicks? Well, I'm pretty sure they weren't…I think I've been in labour since yesterday. My water broke about two hours ago!" 


	8. Chapter 8

The corridor was full of injured people…SG personnel, Priors and Ori. It was as SG1 plus General O'Neill were making their way to the infirmary the Sam had a thought.

"Daniel!" She said stopping dead and causing traffic jam.

"What? What do you need?"

"The machine…it's still running. We need to get somebody up to the Auxiliary Control Room to watch over it. Send Siler…Holy Hannah!" She bent over at the waist, teeth grinding, hands supporting her on her bent knees.

From that position she continued, "Dr Lee can go, once they let him back down here. I don't know what will happen if the device shuts off. I don't know if the Ori will re-Ascend or if the link will be reestablished with the Priors…I think it's keeping other Ori from showing up…damn damn damn."

"Samantha, get through the contraction, then give orders will ya?" Jack asked rubbing her low back.

"It's easing off…I'm okay. I don't know how much power the little ZPM has so I can't tell how long the machine will run…I don't even know if there is an off switch…" they waited for what felt like hours until she stood back up. "Okay, there, that's better."

"Sam, don't worry about the machine. You just concentrate on having those babies." Daniel was concerned about Sam's sanity.

They continued on towards the infirmary. There was chaos in there too. Nurses, doctors and non-injured personal were flying around the room patching up prepping and trying to stop bleeding. Caroline saw them in the doorway and yelled.

"If you aren't bleeding or here to help, get out!"

"No bleeding, but does labour count?" Sam asked.

"Oh damn!"

The petite doctor looked around at the mass of people bleeding or otherwise injured. She was trying to do fifteen things at once.

"My office. Get her into my office, there's a gurney by the door. Take that with you. Get her undressed and I'll be there to see what's going on!"

'Why did all the tiny doctors have Napoleon complexes?' Jack thought.

"Caroline…" Sam really didn't want to tell her this now, but she figured she had to. "I'm pretty sure I've been in labour since yesterday."

"What?" Small panic, not enough to cause distrust amongst the patients, but enough to let Sam know this should have been mentioned before.

"I think you might have mentioned this earlier Samantha…" Jack said with a little sarcasm in his voice.

"We were a little busy at the time, but do you think we can have this conversation later? Damn Damn Damn." The contractions were one after another.

"We'll get into the office and get ready. Let's go Colonel." Jack led her into the small room that Caroline had pointed out. 

Vala had the hand device and without a word to anyone she started treating the worst of the injured. Caroline had turned back to the people around her, now including SG1 and started issuing commands. Until they opened up the mountain this was the only medical help that they had.

Jack pushed the gurney into the office as Sam started to undress. She needed a hand up and once she got there Jack propped her up with pillows and an ortho wedge he'd found in the treatment room. Jack decided that now was the time to take a look.

He draped a blanket over her knees and helped her slide towards the end of the gurney. He looked. Then he cursed.

"Samantha, I don't want to cause a panic, but I see the top of a head here."

They both yelled at the top of their lungs, "Caroline!"

The doctor came in. She was covered in the blood of the soldiers that had so recently defended Earth. She'd been able to wash her hands, but that was all.

"What's the situation down there General?"

"She's crowning."

"Damn…I've got a couple of guys out here that really need me…" Caroline was swiveling her head between Sam and the people outside.

"I've delivered a baby before." Jack said. "On the L in Chicago. It was snowing."

He stood and started stripping off his clothes. The vest and long sleeve shirt ended up on the pile where Sam's clothes had landed.

"Go, Caroline. We'll be okay in here. Just put on one of the head phones. If we get into trouble we'll shout." 

Jack left the room. He wasn't gone long and when he came back Sam could see that he'd scrubbed his arms.

"We might need help…the nurses are pretty busy…would it be okay if…"

Sam was having another contraction and the urge to push was overwhelming.

"Get Daniel!" She yelled.

"Okay, one archaeologist, coming right up."

He stuck his head back out of the door and yelled. "Dr Jackson! Front and centre."

Daniel made his way over to the office.

"What can I do?"

"We need your help in here."

"Wrong kind of Doctor Jack…shouldn't Caroline be in there?"

"She's a little busy right now. I've delivered one baby before; you've delivered a baby before that makes two babies between us. She's having twins so I figure its better that the two of us do this than just me."

"But Jack…"

"Ah gentlemen, I'm going to push now and somebody had better be there to catch my baby."

Sam was soaking wet with sweat and nearly white with pain. This baby was coming and there was nothing that they could do but give it a little helping hand.

Daniel grabbed her hand and Jack pulled up Caroline's desk chair so that he was nearly eye level with the gurney. He steadied himself to look again. There was more than just the top of a head now.

"Caroline." He said into his headset.

"Yes General."

"We've got the tips of the ears now."

"Well, tell Sam it's time to push. Get Dr Jackson to grab some towels off of the cart just outside the door. You'll probably need a surgery kit too."

"Whoa…what do you mean by that?"

"You'll need the clamps for the babies' umbilical chord and the scissors to cut them with."

"Oh, okay." Jack switched his focus. "Daniel, Caroline says to grab some towels and a surgery kit. We'll need clamps and things. Samantha, she said that it's time to push."

"Ya think?" Sam was so ready.

"When the next contraction hits, push Samantha!" Jack said.

It hit and she pushed. Daniel returned to the room, dropped the stuff he was carrying onto the desk and grabbed Sam's hand.

"You can do this Sam." Daniel told her.

"Yeah, but can I?" asked Jack from under the blanket.

"You have the easy part Jack….just catch…son of a…."

Another contraction and Sam pushed. She was almost completely upright and growling deep in her throat. Daniel was a little scared.

"Oh, by the way, I found Siler and sent him to level 16."

"Good, good…" Sam panted.

"One more time Carter…" Jack called out from the end of the bed.

"Do you really think that you should be calling me Carter now? You did this to me!"

"Yeah well, not much I can say, but 'you're welcome'."

Sam let go with a bellow that rattled the walls.

Jack watched in awe as the baby that he and Sam had created slipped from her body into his arms. He caught the baby and cradled it to his chest. He gasped. The baby was perfect. Brown hair, a wrinkled up little nose, pursed lips and whoa, something was missing!

"Jack? What's wrong Jack!" Sam cried.

He hadn't said anything, she was scared.

"Nothing's wrong Samantha…she's perfect."

"Did you say she?"

Jack was staring at the baby in his arms. It was a girl. Jack didn't break his gaze, even when Daniel handed him a squeezy thing to clear the baby's mouth and nose. Once that was done, Jack's daughter opened her indigo eyes, looked at him and let out a cry that could be heard into the next room. In the instant she had opened her eyes, Jack knew. She was the little girl from his 'dream'.

"Hello again." He whispered and bent to kiss her head.

Tears were falling down his cheeks and when he finally looked up he saw tears on Daniel's face as well. Daniel held out a towel and after Jack clamped and cut the chord, he handed his daughter over to the only man he'd trust with her.

Daniel looked at the little girl he now held. She was perfect. He quickly wiped at the gunk that covered her and made his way up the bed to hand her over to her mother.

"Here. Just for a minute, you aren't quiet done yet…"

Sam took the baby. A girl? Her heart exploded with the love it felt for this tiny person. She was supposed to be a he. Sam had been sure that she was carrying two boys. What a surprise, a miracle.

Daniel ran to the door and yelled for everyone to hear.

"It's a girl!"

Cheers roared throughout the room. After a day filled with death, everyone was so happy to hear about the new life.

Caroline came running over.

"Is everything okay in here?" She came over to look at Sam. She did a quick exam and smiled. Mother and daughter looked fine.

"Jack, the other one is coming now!" Sam growled. "Daniel, you need to take the baby."

Daniel grabbed the little girl and got ready for the next round.

Teal'C heard Daniel's shout and looked around. He was finished with the latest patient and when he met Caroline's eyes, he was happy to see her gesture with her head towards the office.

The Jaffa nodded. He turned and made his way to the room where the newest members of his family were entering the world.

Daniel was the only one who noticed Teal'C enter. He walked over and offered the towel wrapped baby to the Jaffa. 

Teal'C took the baby in his arms. He could see both of his friends in the beautiful turn of the infants face. She had O'Neill's colouring, Colonel Carter's nose and mouth. When she opened her eyes he saw that those were the Colonel's as well. She was perfect and he told her so in the language of his people.

"You come from strong warriors my little one. Your father, your mother and her father have been the best people I have ever known. I pledge, to you and to the child that you share a womb with, I will always care and teach you…I will be your friend and your mentor. I will love you as if you were my own."

He could hear Colonel Carter's grunts and moans as she brought forth the second of her children. Daniel Jackson held her hand while O'Neill studied the situation beneath the blanket.

"It's okay Caroline…I see a head…bald but I'm pretty sure it's a head." Jack was talking to the doctor that was still saving lives in the other room.

"What is it Jack?" Sam asked.

"Caroline was just checking…a lot of times the second baby of a multiple birth can come out breech. It looks like we got lucky."

"Yeah lucky…" Sam groaned and grunted.

She was at the push stage again. Jack watched as ears appeared, disappeared and then reappeared. This one wasn't in as much of a hurry as its older sister had been. Jack could see that Sam was fatiguing. Her spirit was willing but the flesh was tired.

"Okay you can do this…you battled a Super Soldier, you can do this!"

"The Super Soldier wasn't trying to rip its way out of my body. It was simply trying to kill me. I think I prefer the Soldier!"

Jack looked up at her. She was beautiful. He'd seen her do the most incredible things, blow up a star, face down a battalion of Jaffa, fire a P90 at thousands of mechanical bugs, but right now, she was the strongest he'd ever seen her. His warrior…she humbled him.

"Jack, I want this baby out…NOW!"

"Okay, okay, I know, but you have to push."

"I'm pushing…if I pushed any harder I'll launch this baby into orbit!"

"You're tired, I know, but you can do this."

"How do you know what I can do?"

"Because I know you…better than you know yourself."

"Oh sure, then how come it took nearly ten years for you to sleep with me?"

"Okay, so not the time or place for this discussion."

"I don't care! It's only Daniel and Teal'C; and they're probably wondering the same thing."

Jack didn't know what to do. Truth be told he was sure that Teal'C and Daniel probably had wondered why Jack had waited do long. He just didn't want to go into it right now.

Sam did.

"So answer me!" she growled as she bore down again.

"You know why…frat regs." Jack responded.

He hoped, for everybody's sake that this baby came soon. Otherwise they were going to have a very private discussion in a very public place. Caroline was still on the headset.

"Bullshit!" she was panting and lying back against the pillows.

"Come on Samantha…focus. You have the most intense concentration of anybody I've ever met…focus on this."

"I can't."

"Yes you can. You can do this, because you have to."

Another contraction hit. Sam screamed as it ripped through her. She felt Jack's hand on her thigh and as the pain crested she felt Daniel reach around her and support her. The contraction ebbed and she felt her body drain of strength. The next one hit almost immediately and instead of screaming or crying she just whimpered.

Daniel helped her upright. He held onto her and cheered her on.

"Come on Sam. You can do this. Just a couple more and it'll be over."

"I can't Daniel, I can't."

"If anybody can you can."

"No, no I can't."

"Come on Samantha, push."

She tried, but she was tired.

"General, is the second baby here yet?' Caroline asked in Jack's ear.

"No doc, and Samantha's getting really tired."

"Is there any bleeding? More than before?" She asked.

"I don't think so."

"Just keep her going. I'll be in there as soon as I can."

Caroline was worried too. Sam was strong, but a woman could only do so much.

"It's only been a half an hour since the last baby was born. She hasn't had time to rest, so it's difficult. That's why, a lot of times, multiple births are done by C-section."

"Do you think that'll be necessary?"

"I hope not. She's almost there…she just needs to dig deep down."

Jack was stroking her thigh. He wanted to be where Daniel was, holding her, giving her strength, loving her, but there was no way he was moving. The joy of catching his daughter was more than he'd ever experienced, and he was going to get a second chance at that.

Daniel could see that Sam was losing it. She was far too tired to do this. He rubbed her back and whispered encouragement. He felt another contraction start when she began to tense up. She was so weak in his arms…he'd never though of Sam as weak.

Sam moaned. She rolled her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Push Sam, come on!"

"No, I can't. That's it. No more." She lay there not fighting the pain.

Teal'C had seen enough. He walked up behind Jack, and saw the baby's head almost completely out. Sam was very nearly there.

"Colonel Carter." He barked in his best First Prime voice. "This is not the time to give up."

Sam opened her eyes to see the big man holding a blanket wrapped bundle that was her daughter. Her little girl needed her. Teal'C had taken the baby out to the exam room and washed her, he had found a towel that was to serve as her daughter's first diaper, but Sam knew, as one of her first motherly instincts, that her daughter would soon need to eat. If Sam didn't deliver the second baby, she wouldn't be able to take care of the first. The baby was already making little mewling sounds.

"You need to finish this." Teal'C had lead many through battle, but none as tough as this.

Sam looked around her. Her family. Jack, Daniel and Teal'C were there to give her strength. She took it and dug way down deep. With a force that came from deep within Sam pushed and the second baby slid out into its father's arms.

"Oh my God!" Jack gasped. 

In his arms was a bald, red and wrinkly angel. He couldn't believe it. They had another girl!

"Jack?" Sam whispered weakly.

"Well, I hope you weren't set on blue…we have another girl Samantha."

She lifted her head off of Daniel's shoulder to have a look, and sure enough, Jack held out a second beautiful little girl. He'd clean out her mouth and nose and the little one opened her eyes. Sam had seen those eyes once before…on the bridge of the Prometheus.

"We didn't come up with girl names, Jack."

"Well, your mom's name was Madeline…I think Teal'C is holding our little Madeline."

Sam smiled, she was so tired. "Only if you are holding our little Moira…we'll name her after your mom."

"Okay…we'll let the guys choose their middle names? They are uncles after all."

"Sure…"

"Daniel, you first"  
Daniel thought less than a second. "Moira Janet O'Neill."

This time everybody in the room sniffed. It was a fine tribute to a fine lady.

"T?"

"I think that this little one should be called Madeline Shar'e O'Neill."

Daniel smiled as both Sam and Jack agreed whole heartedly.

"Thanks Teal'C. She would have been proud."

"She was a strong, good woman."

"That she was." Sam said.

Jack looked at his family. His life was now complete. 


End file.
